WhiteBIT's Crypto Trading Cup Sees 12,249 USDT Gain, 10,725 USDT Loss

WhiteBIT, Europe’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by traffic, successfully hosted the first-ever International Crypto Trading Cup (ICTC 2025) on May 9-10. This global live-streamed tournament marked a significant step toward establishing crypto trading as a competitive, spectator-worthy discipline on par with traditional esports. The event brought together eight of the world’s top crypto traders from across the globe to compete in real time on stage. Trading for six hours each day—twelve hours in total—they executed 269 trades, providing unprecedented insight into advanced trading strategies, risk management, and decision-making under pressure.

Ukrainian Max Hamaha claimed the title in a dramatic comeback, with his name lighting up the LED boards during El Clásico as the world watched. Hamaha started day one at the bottom of the rankings but earned a rPNL of 7,488.84 USDT and the top spot on day two, driven by a high-conviction long position on Ethereum. He executed 47 total trades, the second-highest count in the competition, just behind Muslim Abdullayev from Kazakhstan, who made 49. Reflecting on the experience, Max shared: “Trading live on stage was an incredibly exciting experience—more intense and way more fun than trading at home. I had to adjust my usual approach to fit the tournament rules, but I still focused on active intraday trading with high leverage. I felt confident throughout, though the final minutes got nerve-wracking as others went all-in. WhiteBIT is setting a new trend—competitive trading could easily go mainstream like esports. In a few years, I can see crypto trading tournaments rivaling Dota 2.”

Max was joined on the podium by Dutch Merlijn The Trader with rPNL 6,745.96 USDT in second place, and another Ukrainian Eugene Loza with rPNL 4,098.90 USDT in third. Meanwhile, Malik Roth Klindt Jensen achieved the tournament’s single largest gain — a sharp 12,249 USDT profit on ETH_PERP position. The tournament’s largest single loss, also on the ETH_PERP pair, totaled -10,725 USDT, underscoring the high-risk nature of trading. While traders did not use their personal funds, each was allocated 50,000 USDTB—WhiteBIT’s internal asset for futures trading—creating a powerful educational experience.

A highlight moment came when Hamaha’s name lit up the LED boards during El Clásico — the biggest football match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid — marking the first time in history a trading competition winner was featured during one of the world’s most-watched sporting events. Beyond the competition, ICTC offered a rare look into professional trading techniques, as participants shared live screens and walked through their setups and decisions. One of ICTC’s hosts and market technician noted the educational value of seeing trades executed in real time: “The competition highlighted diverse trading styles, including standout performances such as Mauro Ciami’s aggressive “go big or go home” strategy that dominated day one, and Merlin and Excavo’s high-risk overnight positions that paid off significantly on day two.”

Speaking on the success of the inaugural event, Volodymyr Nosov, Founder and President of WhiteBIT Group, said: “With this tournament, we’re pioneering a new frontier. This is not just about trading—it’s about building community, sharing knowledge, and accelerating global adoption of blockchain. We’re building the infrastructure for the future. ICTC 2025 was a first step to understand what works, what our traders and audience want, and where we can go from here. Our goal is to make this a recurring, global event—bigger and better with each edition.”

Beyond the main stage, ICTC 2025 featured a total of 33 squads, the largest two with 369 and 298 members, and around 3,000 individual traders from around the world. The event underscored the growing interest in competitive crypto trading and its potential to become a mainstream spectator sport. The success of ICTC 2025 sets the stage for future editions, with registration for ICTC 2026 now open, promising even more excitement and innovation in the world of crypto trading.