Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget announced a stock futures trading competition with $1.55 million in USDT prizes, running from January 23 through February 11.
The event targets the exchange's growing tokenized equities market, which recently surpassed $15 billion in cumulative trading volume.
Over one million users have traded stock futures on the platform since the product launched in September 2025.
What Happened
The championship divides prizes across four categories. Team competitions offer $940,000, with $700,000 split among top-performing groups ranked by profit-and-loss metrics. Individual traders can compete for $300,000 distributed to the top 100 performers.
The contest includes $110,000 in welcome rewards for new participants. Early registration between January 26-28 qualifies traders for $200,000 in bonus distributions.
Challenge missions add another $100,000 prize pool through daily trading tasks.
Read also: US Government Crypto Custody Scandal: Contractor's Son Allegedly Behind $40M Theft
Market Context
Bitget's stock futures volume has concentrated in technology equities. Tesla accounts for $5.4 billion in trading activity, followed by Meta at $3 billion and Apple at $1.7 billion, according to company data from January 12.
The exchange maintains a 90% fee discount on stock futures pairs through April 30, reducing transaction costs to 0.0065%.
The promotion coincides with U.S. earnings season, when trading volumes typically increase around corporate financial reports.
Industry Implications
The competition arrives as crypto exchanges expand beyond digital assets.
Bitget reported 73% market share for tokenized equities issued through partner Ondo Finance (ONDO) in December, processing over $88 million in weekly volume for stock tokens.
Traditional stock futures operate as perpetual contracts settled in stablecoins, allowing traders to gain equity exposure without opening conventional brokerage accounts.
The products support leverage up to 25x on individual stocks.
Read next: Why McLaren Racing Chose Hedera Over Ethereum For Fan Collectibles