Deribit and SignalPlus are putting up 600,000 USDC for their latest trading competition, a five-week event called “The Island” running from July 6 to August 10. It’s the biggest prize pool the duo has offered to date.

To put that number in perspective, the partnership’s first competition back in November 2023 carried a $100K USDC prize pool. In less than two years, the reward ceiling has grown sixfold.

From $100K to $600K: the prize pool escalation

After the initial $100K contest, the pair launched “The Summer Chase” with a $300K USDC prize pool. That was followed by the “Space Edition,” which bumped rewards to $450K USDC. Now “The Island” pushes the ceiling to $600K USDC.

The first competition produced $1 billion in notional trading volume. Later events during 2024 exceeded $8 billion in notional volume. Cumulative volume across 2025 competitions surpassed $23 billion, with individual events attracting more than 1,000 traders.

How the competition works

The format includes leaderboards, team challenges, and daily or weekly prizes. Daily and weekly prize distributions create recurring incentive loops, meaning traders need sustained performance rather than one big winning trade.

SignalPlus contributes the analytics and trading infrastructure layer, giving participants strategy tools and market data alongside the competitive framework.

Why this matters for the derivatives market

Deribit has long been the dominant venue for Bitcoin and Ethereum options. The volume numbers show growth from $1 billion in notional volume during the first competition to over $23 billion in cumulative 2025 volume.

A $600K prize pool distributed across leaderboards, team challenges, and daily or weekly rewards means there are multiple ways to earn, not just one winner-take-all outcome.