Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam — August 21, 2025 — Kadena, the scalable proof-of-work Layer-1 behind Chainweb EVM, hosted an ETHVietnam side event at SUCI Hub in Ho Chi Minh City. Following the Chainweb EVM testnet announcement with 50+ projects launching on the network at EthCC[8], the session focused on building and deploying Solidity smart contracts on Kadena’s EVM and outlined a direct pathway into the network’s $50 million Builder Grant Program.
To maximize hands-on learning, the team ran two cohorts (~30 builders total): a student-leaning group focused on first deployments and a cohort of EVM-familiar developers exploring performance, tooling, and migration paths.
The official agenda ran 11:00–18:00 on Sunday, August 10, blending a technical build block, open build time, and a planned late-afternoon showcase. Kadena framed the day around the rationale from Chainweb → Chainweb EVM Testnet before moving directly into the testnet developer portal and hands-on deployment. Speakers discussed why Kadena’s braided, parallel-chain PoW architecture exists and how it powers an EVM experience with low fees and horizontal scalability.
Tech Q&A: Solidity Meets Pact, Safety Front-and-Center
The Workshop mentors C.J. Freeman (Head of Developer Relations), Heather Swope (Senior Solidity Engineer), and Travis Lydon (Product Manager) walked each cohort through deploying to Chainweb EVM Testnet using the new open-source Scaffold Kadena framework, covering the full path from acquiring and funding a MetaMask wallet to deploying locally on devnet, and finally pushing to testnet. So attendees left with every step needed to properly ship a project to testnet, demonstrating that a full, repeatable walkthrough takes ~15–20 minutes.
Engagement skewed technical. Developers pressed into a Q&A on how Chainweb EVM operates in practice; researchers showed particular interest in Pact, Kadena’s human-readable smart-contract language, and how Pact’s safety properties relate to Chainweb consensus as EVM support comes online. These conversations, spanning Solidity and Pact, reinforced the series’ goal to serve EVM-native teams while welcoming builders curious about Pact’s security model as a complementary track in Kadena’s stack.
“Vietnam’s developer energy is real,” says C.J. Freeman, Head of Developer Relations, Kadena. “I’m humbled by the amazing response we’ve received. Developers here are massively passionate about web3, so it’s a pleasure to talk with them about deploying on Kadena. The hands-on format lets us ship to Chainweb EVM testnet in minutes and meet future Developer Advocates who will help us scale education locally.”
Why Chainweb EVM: Low Fees, Parallel Throughput
The workshop’s positioning aligned closely with ETHVietnam activity and local ecosystem partners. SUCI amplified the side event to its community, helping reach student groups and emerging founders across Ho Chi Minh City. The large majority of the attendees at the workshop were younger, clearly trying to establish some real-world use cases for potential projects while learning more about new opportunities.
For builders considering the move, Chainweb EVM delivers familiar Solidity development while running atop Kadena’s braided, parallel-chain PoW network, designed for horizontal scalability and low fees. Developers can start with the Chainweb EVM documentation, quick-start guides, and example repositories via the developer portal, then progress to testnet deploys using standard EVM tooling patterns.
Momentum in Vietnam/APAC adds tailwinds: in June 2025, Vietnam passed a law recognizing crypto assets (effective January 1, 2026), and policymakers are moving toward a pilot digital-asset market/exchange, creating a more predictable environment for startups and builders. That policy shift alongside high grassroots adoption opens a “wide-open playing field” where early teams can claim categories before they mature.
Funding & Next Steps
The $50 million Builder Grant Program, announced in May, supports Chainweb EVM initiatives alongside real-world asset tokenization and AI x blockchain projects, with equity-free funding, mentorship, and go-to-market support via an open application portal and rolling reviews, providing promising workshop concepts with a route from prototype to production.
Kadena’s participation at ETHVietnam underscored the company’s commitment to APAC builders, with mentors on-site and an agenda geared toward fast and repeatable deployments.
About Kadena
Kadena is the only scalable Layer-1 proof-of-work blockchain, featuring a braided Chainweb EVM architecture that delivers parallel throughput, near-zero gas fees, and enterprise-grade security. Founded by former JPMorgan blockchain leads, Kadena’s mission is to drive real-world adoption through secure, developer-friendly infrastructure such as Pact smart contracts and the EVM-compatible Chainweb EVM.Website | X | Discord | Telegram
