Kraken Futures Unveils $20k Prize Pool for AI Chip Supercycle Challenge
Kraken Futures is launching the AI Chip Supercycle Challenge, a one-month trading competition that spans six brand-new equity perps from September 4 to October 4, 2026. The USDG prize pool of $20,000 will be ranked entirely by Realized PnL, where only closed positions count towards the leaderboard.
The six eligible perps are SK Hynix (SKHYNIX), SOXL, SOXS, Nebius (NBIS), Samsung (SAMSUNG), and SanDisk (SANDISK), covering the AI chip supply chain from memory to compute to broad semiconductor exposure. Each of these names brings a unique aspect to the basket:
SK Hynix focuses on memory and high-bandwidth memory, a core input in AI accelerator chip production; SOXL offers leveraged long exposure across the broad semiconductor sector through a 3x ETF; SOXS provides inverse exposure as its counterpart; Nebius is the closest pure-play AI name; Samsung covers memory, contract foundry, and consumer silicon; and SanDisk specializes in NAND flash storage, integral to AI data and storage pipeline infrastructure.
The competition rewards active trading across all six pairs, with a well-timed short able to outrank a larger long that hasn't been settled. The leaderboard updates in real time, displaying which assets each top-ranked trader is running, not just their PnL totals. Traders can participate by enrolling in the challenge and placing trades between September 4, 2026, at 00:00 UTC and October 4, 2026, at 23:59 UTC.