WhiteBIT Awards Winners of the International Crypto Trading Cup 2025

Winners of the first crypto trading championship in the world, hosted by WhiteBIT, received trophies and prizes as the event concluded.

From May 9 to 10, WhiteBIT, the largest crypto exchange by traffic and an official partner of FC Barcelona, hosted the International Crypto Trading Cup (ICTC 2025), a global live-streamed tournament.

ICTC 2025 showed that, like traditional esports, crypto trading can attract viewers’ attention, paving the way for its recognition as an engaging competitive discipline.

During the two-day tournament, eight of the world’s top traders competed in real-time on the main stage for six hours each day. Together, they executed 269 trades, demonstrating advanced trading strategies, risk management, and decision-making skills under pressure.

Besides solo traders, 33 squads participated in the crypto trading festival, with the largest two having 369 and 298 members, and around 3,000 individual traders from around the world.

Ukrainian Max Hamaha Wins First-Ever ICTC Despite a Slow Start

Despite starting day one at the bottom of the rankings, Max Hamaha maintained steady performance and became the first champion of ICTC 2025. On the second day of the competition, he made a strong comeback with a long-position trade on Ethereum, earning 7,488.84 USDT in profit and securing first place.

Overall, Max Hamaha executed 47 trades, the second-highest in the competition, just behind Muslim Abdullayev from Kazakhstan, who made 49.

Trading live on stage was an incredibly exciting experience—more intense and way more fun than trading at home,” Max Hamaha said, reflecting on his experience. “I had to adjust my usual approach to fit the tournament rules, but I still focused on active intraday trading with high leverage. 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.

• Dutch trader Merlijn The Trader, with an rPNL of 6,745.96 USDT, took second place.
• Another Ukrainian, Eugene Loza (EXCAVO), with an rPNL of 4,098.90 USDT, ranked third.
• The tournament’s single largest gain was a profit of 12,249 USDT, earned by Malik Roth Klindt Jensen (Coinvo). 
• The largest single loss was –10,725 USDT, highlighting the risky nature of trading.

Although traders didn’t use their own money, each was given 50,000 USDTB, WhiteBIT’s internal asset for futures trading, making the event a strong learning experience.

ICTC 2025 Winner’s Name Appeared at the Barcelona Stadium 

During El Clásico – the biggest football match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid – Max Hamaha’s name appeared on the LED boards, marking the first time in history that a trading competition winner was featured during one of the world’s most-watched sporting events.

A Look Into Key Trading Strategies

Beyond the competition, ICTC featured live strategy breakdowns and expert commentary as participants shared their live screens and walked through their trading techniques. Marc Principato, market technician and one of ICTC’s hosts, highlighted the educational value of watching real-time trade executions.

He mentioned diverse styles of participants, from “go big or go home” approach to high-risk overnight positions. 

The lessons learned in this one of a kind event are priceless for aspiring and experienced traders alike,” said Principato, “Putting your reputation on the line and showing the world your secrets is not something most professional traders are willing to do so watch carefully and take notes. From higher probability patterns to mean reversion tactics, you will come away with practical knowledge that you can incorporate into your own style now.

Laying the Groundwork for a New Era

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.

Registration for ICTC 2026 Is Already Open 

While ICTC 2025 is over, WhiteBIT is already preparing for next year’s crypto trading festival – registration for ICTC 2026 is now open. Experienced traders from around the world can secure their spot to compete, connect, and make history.

WhiteBIT’s trading competition is a clear sign of the future of crypto trading:

• interactive, 
• competitive, 
• globally accessible.

As the countdown to ICTC 2026 begins, recordings of the previous event are available on WhiteBIT’s YouTube channel.