How to run a trading competition that brings real traders, not just volume

Trading competitions are one of the fastest ways for a trading platform to get attention. They are also one of the easiest ways to waste a prize pool: a spike in volume, a leaderboard full of the same farmers, and a platform that looks exactly the same a month later.

The difference is design. Our last global trading competition drove more than $100M in trading volume in 8 weeks, with more than $60M attributed directly to Miren. Here is the process we use.

Step 1: Design for the trader you want, not the volume you want

Start with the goal, then work backwards:

• Goal: new traders, first deposits, challenge sales, or reactivating dormant users. Pick one.
• Format: public leaderboard, private competition with one community, team vs team, or challenge-based for prop firms.
• Ranking metric: PnL %, total return or volume. Ranking on percentage returns rewards skill and discourages farming; ranking on raw volume invites it.
• Eligibility: new accounts only, minimum deposit or a purchased challenge, one account per person.

Step 2: Size the prize pool against acquisition, not hype

Work out what a new active trader is worth to you, multiply by the number you want, and spend a fraction of that. A bigger pool does not fix a weak format. Split prizes across more places, or add rewards for reaching activity milestones, so more participants have a reason to keep trading.

Step 3: Build tracking and a landing page

• Connect the leaderboard to your platform data so rankings update automatically.
• Publish a landing page with rules, prizes, dates and a clear sign-up flow.
• Track every participant from sign-up to first trade, by source: creator, affiliate or community.

Step 4: Launch through people traders already trust

Ads alone rarely fill a competition. Launch through trading creators, affiliates and existing trading communities, and give each one a tracked link. Team formats work well here: when communities compete against each other, creators become recruiters.

Step 5: Run it like a live event

• Post leaderboard updates daily on X and in Discord.
• Answer rule questions fast; confusion kills participation.
• Share mid-competition moments: big moves, close races, new leaders.

Stopping wash trading and abuse

Every competition attracts people who try to game it. Build defenses into the rules:

• One account per participant, with verification where possible.
• Minimum activity requirements and volume caps.
• Ranking on returns rather than raw volume.
• Manual review of top positions before any prize is paid.

Step 6: Retain participants after the leaderboard closes

This is where most competitions fail. When it ends:

• Publish winner content and celebrate the community, not just the top three.
• Follow up with participants with a next step: a new challenge offer, a VIP channel or the next competition date.
• Measure who is still trading 30 days later. That number, not peak volume, tells you if it worked.

What to measure

Want us to run yours?

Miren designs, launches and promotes trading competitions end to end for prop firms, brokers and crypto exchanges. See how we run trading competitions.