Deribit and SignalPlus have announced the fifth edition of “The Island,” a trading competition carrying a prize pool of up to $600,000 in USDC. The event will run for 35 days and, according to the two firms, is the largest version of the competition so far. Participants must trade on Deribit through SignalPlus, with rankings based on options and futures volume. Options carry a 1.0 weighting, while futures are weighted at 0.5.
Registration opened at 08:00 UTC on June 29, 2026 and will remain open until 23:59 UTC on August 10, 2026. The competition itself is scheduled from 08:00 UTC on July 6, 2026, to 23:59 UTC on August 10, 2026. The event is organized by DRB Panama Inc. and is open to eligible retail traders using Deribit through SignalPlus. The organizers also said the campaign is not intended for residents of Dubai or the UAE.
Competition structure spans 11 arenas
The organizers said this year’s edition is built around 11 core arenas, covering weekly trading-volume contests, daily reward cycles, team participation, referral expansion, high-balance incentives, and ecosystem progress. New mechanics include a Mystery Box deposit feature, a weekly profit-and-loss leaderboard, boosted rewards for short-dated options, and a Flash Arena in which higher short-dated options volume increases the chances of landing the top prize.
The format goes beyond a single leaderboard. In the Mystery Box deposit round, users need to register and maintain their deposit for seven days to unlock entry into a prize draw. A daily reward system is tied to recurring tasks aimed at keeping traders active. Block Arena offers fee rebates for higher-balance participants, while Expansion Arena is tied to referral-driven community growth.
Early-bird rewards and prize list disclosed
Users who register before July 7 can receive three free Deribit options. Team captains who invite five friends to register before that date will have a chance to win a Cressi Velvet wetsuit valued at 300 USDC. A separate limited reward is also in place: among the first 10 participants to reach $200 million in trading volume before July 12, one winner will be randomly selected to receive two RIMOWA suitcases worth 5,000 USDC.
The published prize lineup also includes a Rolex watch, Apple Vision Pro, NVIDIA stock, a luxury trip to Turkey, Ledger Stax, Gentle Monster sunglasses, a Razer keyboard, spot SOL rewards, trading fee discount vouchers, and daily USDC prize pools.
Executives frame the event around active retail derivatives trading
Luuk Strijers, Senior Director at Deribit by Coinbase, said the latest edition combines larger scale, stronger participation loops, and a structure designed to reward active options traders, while bringing together individual and team contests, short-dated options features, and a private-island grand prize. SignalPlus co-founder and CEO Chris Yu said the event was designed to make participation more dynamic, whether users are competing on volume, joining teams, or taking part through short-dated options and daily missions.
Deribit describes itself as an institutional-grade centralized derivatives platform focused on Bitcoin and Ether options and futures. SignalPlus says it provides crypto derivatives trading software and infrastructure covering options, futures, and spot markets.