The World Series of Trading (WSOT) is Bybit's annual flagship trading tournament. It's the largest recurring prize pool in the crypto-tournament calendar — $10M USDT for the flagship 2024 and 2025 editions — and structurally the most complex tournament format any centralized crypto exchange runs. Team competitions, individual leaderboards, tiered eligibility, six-week trading window.
Bybit runs a lot of tournaments — currently six active events with combined prize pools north of $2M — but WSOT is the one that anchors their annual competitive calendar. This piece is the complete reference: what WSOT actually is, how the format has evolved, what past editions looked like, and how it fits alongside the rest of Bybit's tournament portfolio.
What WSOT actually is
WSOT is a team-based crypto-derivatives trading tournament with parallel individual leaderboards, run annually by Bybit. The 2024 and 2025 editions both advertised $10M USDT prize pools — the largest advertised trader-vs-trader cash prizes in crypto tournament history, matched only by Binance's Traders League and MEXC's Ferrari-edition futures competition.
Core structure:
- Trading window — six weeks, typically late August through early October
- Team + individual format — participants join a team (formed by KOL captains or self-organized), team performance and individual performance both scored
- Perpetual-futures focus — USDT-margined perps dominate, with some editions adding spot brackets
- Tiered eligibility — free entry to the base tier, higher prize tiers unlocked by KYC level + deposit + trading volume thresholds
- Ranking on ROI or absolute PnL — depending on the specific bracket
The tournament is Bybit's largest annual user-acquisition and engagement event. Prize money is marketing spend; the participant experience is genuinely competitive because the leaderboards are public in real time and the format has enough structural variety (team dynamics, KOL captains, multiple brackets) to sustain six weeks of engagement.
Format details
Team formation. Teams are typically formed by KOL captains — well-known trading personalities recruit team members through their own audiences. Some editions allow self-organized teams; some restrict captain slots to Bybit-invited traders with verified track records. Team size cap varies by edition (typically 10-30 members).
Tiers. WSOT usually runs three or four tier levels based on individual account KYC status and trading volume during the tournament. Base tier is free entry and competes for a share of the pool; premium tiers unlock larger individual prize slots but require KYC Level 2 verification and minimum trading volume thresholds (typical: $100K-$1M traded during the six weeks).
Team scoring. Team score aggregates member performance — usually a combination of team-total PnL and team-average ROI. The specific weighting varies by edition; check the current-edition rulebook when it publishes.
Individual scoring. Parallel leaderboards score individual ROI (percentage return of a starting balance) and individual absolute PnL. A trader can win an individual prize even if their team doesn't place, and vice versa.
Payout. Prize money paid in USDT to Bybit accounts after tournament close, typically 3-14 days after settlement pending KYC review of top finishers. Team captains often distribute the team-prize pool among members based on individual contribution — the exact distribution is up to the team.
Past editions
WSOT 2024 — $10M USDT prize pool. Ran August-October 2024. Bybit publicized it as "the biggest tournament in crypto history" alongside Binance's parallel Traders League event.
WSOT 2023 — earlier iteration with a smaller pool. Cataloged in our directory as bybit-wsot-2023. The 2023 edition established the team+individual format that later editions have refined.
Earlier editions (2022, 2021) — Bybit ran predecessor tournaments under different names before consolidating the "WSOT" branding. Prize pools were smaller — typically $1M-$5M — and the format was individual-focused. The team-format shift happened alongside the prize-pool scaling to $10M.
How WSOT fits alongside Bybit's other tournaments
WSOT is the flagship annual event but Bybit runs a continuous tournament calendar. As of mid-2026, active Bybit events include:
- Master Trading Battle — $50K rolling monthly event, individual competition, low commitment
- Boost Battle — $500K seasonal series, team format similar to a mini-WSOT
- Themed events — Bybit Football Season ($1M seasonal), BTC vs Gold ($150K), Crypto vs TradFi Battle of the Bots ($130K), Alpha RWA Trading Fiesta ($150K)
The full list of active Bybit tournaments is at /exchanges/bybit. WSOT annually is the biggest but the year-round monthly and seasonal events keep the tournament calendar dense throughout the calendar year.
For the broader landscape:
- Perp trading tournaments — the format WSOT belongs to
- Highest-prize tournaments — where WSOT ranks on the all-time list
- Championships — the credential-tier events (WCTC, USIC) that operate on a different structure
Entry path
To enter WSOT when the next edition opens (typically late July for an August start):
- Bybit account — required. If you don't have one, sign up through Bybit's registration flow. Standard Bybit KYC applies.
- KYC Level — Level 1 unlocks base tier; Level 2 unlocks premium tiers with higher individual prize slots. Complete KYC well before the tournament opens; verification can take days during peak signup.
- Team selection — decide whether to join an existing team (through a KOL captain's audience channel) or apply for a self-organized team slot. Some editions allow individual-only entry that bypasses the team component but caps the accessible prize tiers.
- Fund your trading account — the tournament ranks on trading performance in your Bybit futures account. Higher premium tiers require minimum trading volume during the window (typically $100K-$1M traded).
- Trade the window — six weeks. Real cash and real positions, standard Bybit fee structure applies.
- Payout — top finishers reviewed for additional KYC, then USDT paid to accounts within ~3-14 days of tournament close.
Geo restrictions apply: WSOT follows standard Bybit geo restrictions, which block US residents and some other jurisdictions. Check the tournaments by country index for your specific eligibility.
Should you enter?
WSOT is a top-tier event by every quantitative measure — biggest prize pool, longest history, best-organized tournament calendar in crypto derivatives. The framework question is whether team-based tournament trading fits your style.
Enter WSOT if: you already trade Bybit perps actively, want the experience of leaderboard trading, and either have an existing audience (to captain a team) or an existing network (to join a strong team). Individual-focused traders can still win individual prizes but the team component is a meaningful chunk of the total pool.
Skip WSOT if: you're new to competitive tournaments and would benefit from a lower-stakes entry point. Bybit Master Trading Battle monthly rolling event is a lower-commitment way to try the format. Or start with free-entry tournaments on any platform.
Watch WSOT if: you're not entering but want to understand where the leading crypto exchange puts its tournament effort. WSOT publishes final standings — reading them across editions is one of the better ways to spot rising professional traders before their profiles become widely known.
What comes next
The current WSOT edition (2026) hasn't been formally announced as of publication date. Bybit typically announces the tournament 4-6 weeks before the start window (August-October is the historical calendar). Watch the Bybit exchange page for the current-edition tournament card when it publishes.
For competitors: BingX Anniversary events run in the same prize-pool tier ($9.8M for the 2026 8th Anniversary) with a different structural approach — pure individual competition, no team format. Both are worth watching as the leading annual crypto-tournament events.