Cypher Tank Returns with Bigger Stakes and More Prizes
Cypher Tank is back for its second season, and it's bigger than ever. The Bitcoin-focused pitch competition has opened applications for its 2026 edition, with a record number of participants expected to compete for over $100,000 in prizes.
Last year's event drew over 4,000 participants from 64 countries, and the format is being repeated this year. Like the 2025 event, it pairs a 'Shark Tank'-style negotiation format with a documentary-style production, filming real pitches, deals, and judge deliberations for release as an online series.
The competition has expanded its finalist field to 12 projects - eight for-profit and four nonprofit - up from last year's eleven. Founders will compete to negotiate direct investment from the 'honey badgers' panel of judges and win one of three $100,000 prizes in incubation, acceleration, or relocation services.
The competition unfolds in four phases: applications opened August 13 and close September 25; finalists are notified starting September 30; the finals run October 25-27 at PoW Space Lugano; and winners are selected at the close of the second day. The recorded episodes will air online in January 2027, with the winners' incubation and acceleration support kicking off at the end of February.
Cypher Tank is betting that a bigger finalist pool and tighter four-phase structure can build on its first-season visibility - continuing its push to position Lugano as a global hub for Bitcoin and freedom-tech innovation.