Berlin, Germany, August 27, 2026 (Chainwire) — Nimiq is opening Cycle II of its Mini Apps Competition on Aug. 24, giving developers, AI builders and indie hackers four weeks to compete for $17,000 in prizes by building open-source applications for Nimiq Pay.

The second four-week competition runs through Sept. 18 and follows an inaugural round that attracted 62 Mini App submissions. It is the second of three competition cycles offering more than $50,000 in total prizes to builders creating applications through the Nimiq Pay Mini Apps Framework.

How the Mini Apps Framework works

The framework allows developers to build and host their own lightweight web applications while using Nimiq Pay as the environment through which users access them. Nimiq Pay provides wallet functionality and payment rails, while builders retain control of their applications, infrastructure and intellectual property.

For builders, the model is designed to reduce some of the friction associated with conventional app distribution. Mini Apps can be made available to Nimiq Pay users without submission fees, platform commissions or revenue sharing, while payment functionality is available directly through Nimiq Pay.

That contrast is concrete: Apple's App Store and Google Play, the dominant mobile distribution channels, typically retain commissions of 15–30% on digital purchases, and both operate review processes that govern when and how apps reach users.

Nimiq is beginning to roll out its renewed vision for the future of payments: an open framework that lets developers bring their own creations directly into its payment app. The mini-app model has gained traction elsewhere in crypto, most visibly on Telegram, where Mini Apps embedded in the messaging service have become a notable distribution channel for games and consumer applications.

“This is an ‘App Store moment’ for crypto payments,” said Max Burger, Executive Director at Nimiq. “Developers can ship extensions to Nimiq payment experience and put it in front of real users immediately, inside an app where it works with everything else, not in a silo.”

Reducing post-build friction

The Nimiq Pay Mini App Framework is designed to address some of the friction developers face after an app is built and traditionally submitted to iOS and Android app stores. Builders can make their apps available through Nimiq Pay without submission fees, platform commissions or revenue sharing, while retaining ownership of the applications they create.

Nimiq Pay also provides the wallet and payment functionality used by Mini Apps, reducing the amount of infrastructure builders need to create themselves before they can launch. That allows developers to spend more time on the product itself rather than setting up payment flows or adapting to a separate platform's monetization requirements.

Who can participate

The competition is aimed at developers, AI-builders, vibe coders and indie hackers. Participants can use AI development tools throughout the build process, and eligible applications can include games, productivity tools, marketplaces, social experiences and other web apps.

Cycle II opens Aug. 24, giving builders four weeks to turn an idea into a working Mini App and put it in front of Nimiq Pay users. The inaugural round's 62 submissions set the benchmark for this cycle, and a third competition will follow to complete the three-part series and its more than $50,000 total prize pool. Developers, AI builders and indie hackers can register and access the Mini Apps Framework, competition rules and starter resources at miniappscompetition.com.

About Nimiq

Nimiq is an open-source technology project currently undergoing a broader strategic and structural evolution, including changes to its direction and the components that make up its ecosystem. As part of this next phase, Nimiq is turning its payment app into a platform: developers build Mini-Apps that extend what the app can do, and distribute them instantly to the Nimiq community — an open framework, immediate reach, and experiences that work together instead of living in silos.

Media contact: Ricardo Barquero, info@nimiq.com