Bybit opens WSOT 2026 with up to 10 million USDT in prizes and an AI arena
Bybit has opened registration for the 2026 edition of its World Series of Trading (WSOT), a global trading competition with a prize pool of up to 10 million USDT. The contest, previously focused on crypto, now covers stocks, gold, oil and indices, and adds a category for strategies run through Bybit AI.
- Bybit opened WSOT 2026 registration on 29 October 2026, with a prize pool of up to 10 million USDT running until 2 December 2026.
- New Global Assets arena covers stocks, gold, oil and indices, and a new AI P&L Showdown ranks strategies run through Bybit AI.
- The 2025 edition drew 520,451 participants and 1,474 teams, according to Bybit.
- No minimum capital to register, but 100 USDT held for five minutes is needed to appear in P&L rankings.
- Residents of the European Economic Area and other restricted regions cannot take part.
From a crypto contest to a multi-asset tournament
According to Bybit, eligible traders worldwide could register from 10:00 UTC on 29 October 2026, create or join a team and start the Preheat Quest. The prize pool, which can reach 10 million USDT, runs until 2 December 2026 at 10:00 UTC.
Under this year's theme, "The World Trades Here", the competition moves from crypto-only trading to a multi-asset format. Two new arenas join the team and individual contests: Global Assets, where traders compete on stocks, gold, oil and indices, and the AI P&L Showdown, where strategies are executed through Bybit AI.
Bybit says the 2025 edition drew 520,451 participants worldwide and formed 1,474 teams. It also earned a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for 71,765 participants registered within 24 hours.
What the new categories cover
The Global Assets Showdown has two volume-based rankings. The Spot ranking covers crypto and stock spot trading, where available. The TradFi Perps ranking covers perpetual contracts on stocks, gold, oil and indices.
The AI Showdown ranks traders who use a Bybit AI sub-account or a general AI sub-account by their profit and loss. Bybit AI also appears on the WSOT page as a competition assistant. It explains the rules and tasks and tracks team and player rankings in real time.
The Preheat Quest runs across the whole campaign and spans five arenas: New & Invite, Spot, Derivatives, TradFi and Bybit AI. Each completed task lights up an arena and unlocks rewards.
Squad members, and not only leaders, can now earn rewards for inviting traders into their squad. The first 100 qualified teams win 100 USDT each for their leader, and the first 20 TradFi team leaders win 500 USDT each. The first 200 qualified squad leaders earn 50 USDT each.
Schedule, rules and eligibility
All times are UTC in 2026:
- Preheat Quest registration: 29 October, 10:00 to 2 December, 10:00
- Squad creation: 29 October, 10:00 to 11 November, 10:00
- Squad Showdown main competition and individual showdown: 13 November, 10:00 to 2 December, 10:00
- Global Assets Spot competition: 5 November, 10:00 to 26 November, 10:00
- Global Assets TradFi Perps: 19 November, 10:00 to 2 December, 10:00
- AI Showdown: 13 November, 10:00 to 2 December, 10:00
Prize pools unlock as the total trading volume among participants grows. In the Squad Showdown, the leader takes 20% of each team's reward, the top 10 members share 20%, and all eligible members share 60%. The individual ranking splits traders into lightweight, middleweight and heavyweight categories.
There is no minimum capital to register. To appear in the P&L and P&L% rankings, a trader must hold at least 100 USDT in their unified trading account for five minutes. Each trader can take part with a main account and up to six sub-accounts, including AI sub-accounts. Players can join a squad and compete solo at the same time, or compete solo only.
Professional users, market makers and institutional users are not eligible. WSOT 2026 is not open to residents of the European Economic Area or other restricted regions. Full rules are on bybit.com/wsot2026.
What it means for traders
The event reflects Bybit's shift toward a multi-asset platform, where, according to the company, crypto, stocks and commodities share one account and one competition, with AI built into the experience from registration to the final ranking. For participants, that means one entry point for several markets and a dedicated route for AI-driven strategies.
Bybit's disclaimer warns that trading carries risk, including the loss of all invested funds, and that leveraged products carry a high level of risk. Eligibility conditions and geographic restrictions apply, and product availability varies by region.
