TL;DR
- Enroll in the $5,000,000 USDG Kraken Futures Challenge. It runs from October 12 to December 10, 2026 on Kraken Futures.
- Traders are ranked by Weighted Trading Volume, not profit, with a 3x multiplier on gold, 2x on real-world assets (RWAs), and 1x on crypto futures.
- The reward pool grows through eight tiers as Community Volume rises, reaching up to $5,000,000 USDG at $18.5 billion of weighted Community Volume. The final pool depends on total participant volume and isn’t guaranteed.
- Open to eligible clients where Kraken Futures is available, excluding the US, UK, EEA, Switzerland, Canada, and Australia.
Gold, crude oil, the euro, Nvidia, and Bitcoin don’t usually share a leaderboard. For 60 days on Kraken Futures, they do.
First, enroll in the competition. Then, from October 12 to December 10, 2026, the $5,000,000 USDG Kraken Futures Challenge ranks every enrolled trader on a single leaderboard by Weighted Trading Volume. Gold counts triple, RWAs count double, and crypto counts once. Profit and loss doesn’t factor in.
The reward pool isn’t fixed. It starts at the Default tier and steps up as the community’s combined volume crosses each threshold, reaching up to $5,000,000 USDG at the top. The final size of the pool depends on the total trading volume of all participants and isn’t guaranteed.
Eligible markets and multipliers
Every futures contract available to you on Kraken Futures counts toward the Challenge. What changes is how much each one counts:
- Gold (3x): the Gold 24/7 perp (PF_XAUUSD)
- Real-world assets (2x): commodities (Brent crude, WTI crude, natural gas, silver, and copper), forex (EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and CHF/USD), equity perps (Micron, Intel, Nebius, Samsung, SK Hynix, SanDisk, SOXL, and SOXS), xStocks perps (AAPLx, AMZNx, COINx, CRCLx, GLDx, GOOGLx, HOODx, METAx, MSTRx, NVDAx, QQQx, SPCXx, SPYx, and TSLAx), and the US100 index perp
- Crypto (1x): all other perpetual and fixed-maturity futures on Kraken Futures
In practice, $10,000 of gold volume adds $30,000 to your Weighted Trading Volume, $10,000 in an RWA perp adds $20,000, and $10,000 in a crypto perp adds $10,000.
The full list of eligible instruments is in the terms and conditions. We may add or remove instruments during the Challenge, for example when a contract is listed, delisted, or expires. Any change will be posted on the Challenge page and applies only to trades placed after it’s posted.
How the competition works
- Enroll first, then trade eligible futures between 12:00 a.m. UTC on October 12, 2026, and 11:59:59 p.m. UTC on December 10, 2026
- Your Trading Volume is the USD notional value of your filled orders on eligible instruments, including opening and closing trades, and both maker and taker orders
- Each instrument’s multiplier turns your Trading Volume into Weighted Trading Volume, which sets your rank. Profit and loss isn’t considered
- You need at least $50,000 in Weighted Trading Volume to be ranked and eligible for a reward
- The live leaderboard shows a pseudonymous identifier, your rank, and your Weighted Trading Volume. It’s indicative only, and final rankings are verified after the Challenge ends
The reward pool
When the Challenge ends, the reward pool is set by the highest tier that the combined Weighted Trading Volume of every trader who meets the minimum has reached. Every enrolled trader’s volume counts toward it, so the whole leaderboard moves up together.
At Tier 4 ($6 billion), the pool reaches $1,000,000 USDG and the Tail Pool, which shares rewards among every qualifying trader ranked 51st or lower, grows to $405,000. At Tier 7 ($18.5 billion), the pool reaches $5,000,000 USDG. All rewards are paid in USDG, and Community Volume is shown in weighted USD.
Default to Tier 3
| Rank | Default | Tier 1 ($3 billion) | Tier 2 ($3.5 billion) | Tier 3 ($5 billion) |
| 1 | $3,750 | $15,000 | $45,000 | $105,000 |
| 2 | $2,000 | $8,000 | $24,000 | $56,000 |
| 3 | $1,500 | $6,000 | $18,000 | $42,000 |
| 4–5 (each) | $750 | $3,000 | $9,000 | $21,000 |
| 6–10 (each) | $500 | $2,000 | $6,000 | $14,000 |
| 11–20 (each) | $250 | $1,000 | $3,000 | $7,000 |
| 21–50 (each) | $37.50 | $150 | $450 | $1,050 |
| 51+ Tail Pool (shared) | $10,125 | $40,500 | $121,500 | $283,500 |
Tier 4 to Tier 7
| Rank | Tier 4 ($6 billion) | Tier 5 ($7.5 billion) | Tier 6 ($12 billion) | Tier 7 ($18.5 billion) |
| 1 | $150,000 | $225,000 | $450,000 | $750,000 |
| 2 | $80,000 | $120,000 | $240,000 | $400,000 |
| 3 | $60,000 | $90,000 | $180,000 | $300,000 |
| 4–5 (each) | $30,000 | $45,000 | $90,000 | $150,000 |
| 6–10 (each) | $20,000 | $30,000 | $60,000 | $100,000 |
| 11–20 (each) | $10,000 | $15,000 | $30,000 | $50,000 |
| 21–50 (each) | $1,500 | $2,250 | $4,500 | $7,500 |
| 51+ Tail Pool (shared) | $405,000 | $607,500 | $1,215,000 | $2,025,000 |
| Total | $1,000,000 | $1,500,000 | $3,000,000 | $5,000,000 |
Rewards aren’t cumulative across tiers: each winner receives only the reward for the final tier reached. If fewer traders qualify than there are rewards available, unallocated rewards aren’t distributed.
How to enter
You must enroll before you trade, and trades placed before you enroll don’t count.
- Enroll in the Challenge. Log in to your Kraken account (or create one) with access to Kraken Futures, then select Join the Challenge on the Challenge page.
- Trade eligible futures between 12:00 a.m. UTC on October 12, 2026, and 11:59:59 p.m. UTC on December 10, 2026.
- Complete Intermediate verification before the Challenge ends. You’ll need an account in good standing with at least Intermediate verification to receive a reward.
The Challenge is subject to the terms and conditions. The Challenge is open to eligible clients aged 18 or older (or the age of majority in your jurisdiction, if higher) in jurisdictions where Kraken Futures is available, excluding the US, UK, EEA, Switzerland, Canada, and Australia. Additional regional restrictions may apply. Each person can participate with one Kraken account only.
Market makers and liquidity providers, managed accounts (including accounts traded through copy-trading or signal services), and our employees, contractors, and directors aren’t eligible.
The Challenge rewards genuine trading activity. Wash trading, self-matching, coordinated trading between accounts, offsetting positions built to generate volume without real market exposure, and other manipulative activity are prohibited. Ordinary API trading is permitted. We monitor trading activity throughout the Challenge and may exclude volume, adjust rankings, disqualify participants, or reclaim rewards, including after they’ve been credited.
Futures trading involves a high degree of risk and isn’t suitable for everyone. Leverage can work against you, and you may lose more than your initial deposit. Don’t trade more than you otherwise would, or take on risk you don’t understand, to participate in the Challenge. Nothing here is investment, financial, or trading advice.
Payward Digital Solutions Ltd. is licensed to conduct digital asset business by the Bermuda Monetary Authority. Trading futures, derivatives and other instruments using leverage involves an element of risk and may not be suitable for everyone. Read Kraken Derivatives’ risk disclosure to learn more.
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