Bybit, which the company describes as the world’s second-largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has opened sign-ups for an Institutional Strategy Championship it is staging with 1Token, a SOC 2–compliant platform for institutional crypto portfolio, risk, operations, accounting and lending management. The program makes available interest-free loan support beginning at a minimum of $1 million to eligible institutional entrants and VIP users, while inviting global trading institutions to compete across predefined strategy categories using Bybit’s market infrastructure and liquidity.
Registration for the championship is active now and will remain open until May 31, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. UTC. The official competition window runs from June 1, 2026 at 12:00 a.m. UTC through August 31, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. UTC. Organizers have also scheduled a warm-up period from May 16 to May 31, 2026 to allow teams to test approaches; trading during that warm-up will not affect rankings.
Structure, tracks and evaluation
The championship comprises three independent strategy tracks: Delta Neutral, Dollar Neutral and Directional. Institutions and eligible VIP users may enter any single track or multiple tracks; each entry will be judged on its own performance using predefined metrics and scoring methods. Bybit will use its official systems and records to determine performance rankings, while 1Token will supply the strategy evaluation methodology and analytical framework that underpins those calculations.
Yoyee Wang, Head of Institutional and Enterprise Business at Bybit, said the event is intended to pair deep liquidity with capital efficiency to support institutional growth. "This championship reflects our commitment to supporting institutional growth by combining deep liquidity with meaningful capital efficiency," Wang said. "We aim to provide a platform where sophisticated trading strategies can be deployed, tested, and recognized at scale."
Damon Xu, CEO and Co-founder at 1Token, framed the initiative as a way to introduce a structured evaluation framework to institutional trading. "By bringing a structured evaluation framework to the championship, we aim to enhance transparency and comparability across diverse trading strategies," Xu said. "This initiative helps institutional participants benchmark performance more effectively while engaging with a broader market ecosystem."
Eligibility, onboarding and capital mechanics
The competition is open to existing VIP users at level 2 and above, institutional clients, and new institutional entrants that complete Know Your Business verification. New institutional clients must submit an application; after approval, they will receive onboarding assistance from a dedicated relationship manager, which includes guidance on loan applications.
Institutions accepted into the program may access interest-free borrowing beginning at $1 million, with the proposition that eligible participants could unlock up to $10 million in total campaign capital subject to internal review and approvals. A minimum collateral requirement of $250,000 applies. Additional capital access is tied to measures such as external trading volume, assets under management and institutional lending qualifications.
The interest-free borrowing advantage applies during the campaign period, and approved participants may continue to use the principal without interest through September 30, 2026, subject to applicable conditions and approvals.
Operational rules and participant protections
To ensure a fair contest, Bybit requires participants to operate dedicated accounts exclusively for championship activity and to maintain a minimum initial position value of $500,000 per strategy entered. All trading must reflect legitimate market-driven behavior. The rules explicitly ban market manipulation, wash trading and artificial profit generation. Bybit reserves the right to investigate, adjust results or disqualify participants if it detects irregular activity or breaches of the rules.
Ranked participants will receive a one-month upgrade to the next VIP or Pro level after the competition period ends; users who are not Pro-level will be upgraded to Pro 1 where applicable.
About 1Token and risk notice
1Token is presented in the championship materials as an institutional-grade provider of digital asset management infrastructure, offering portfolio aggregation, risk monitoring, performance analytics, NAV reporting and strategy benchmarking across centralized finance and decentralized finance. The material notes that 1Token serves more than 100 institutional clients and supports in excess of $20 billion in assets, and that it received Hedgeweek’s 2024 "Portfolio Management Solution of the Year" award.
The organizers underscore that participation involves market risk and that entrants are responsible for their own trading choices and outcomes. The availability of the products and services cited in the championship announcement may vary by jurisdiction and are subject to applicable terms and conditions.
Registration and contacts
Registration is open through May 31, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. UTC. The warm-up window opens May 16 and runs through May 31, 2026; activity in that interval will not be scored. The competition itself spans June 1 through August 31, 2026. For onboarding and media queries, the announcement lists a dedicated relationship management process for new institutional clients and provides a media contact email for Bybit communications.
This championship frames itself as an opportunity for institutional trading desks to run strategies against standardized evaluation criteria while accessing temporary, interest-free capital under defined collateral and eligibility conditions.