Onchain Royale S2 Results Analysis: A Look Back at a $1.9M Taker-Only Sprint
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Competition Overview
- Unique Prize Structure and Its Outcome
- Top Performers Analysis (ROI)
- Trading Volume and Style Analysis
- Conclusion and Future Outlook
Introduction
Following the success of the first season, dYdX and Crypto.com once again joined forces to host the "Onchain Royale Season 2" trading competition. Held from September 4 to September 11, 2025, this 7-day sprint offered a total prize pool of 20,000 USDC and was exclusively available to users of the Crypto.com Onchain Wallet, drawing the attention of many traders.
This article provides a detailed analysis of the competition's results, reviewing performance, trading trends, and the key lessons learned from this event.
Competition Overview
This competition was designed as a sprint format, demanding focused trading over a short period.
- Duration: September 4 - September 11, 2025 (7 days)
- Platform: dYdX Trading Arena (via Crypto.com Onchain Wallet)
- Registered Users: 1,446
- Active Participants: 86 (Deposited the required 100+ USDC)
- Total Trading Volume: Approx. 1,900,000 USDC
- Total Fees Generated: Approx. 929 USDC
While over 1,000 users registered, only 86 became active participants, resulting in an activation rate of about 8%. This highlights a potential challenge for future large-scale events.
Unique Prize Structure and Its Outcome
The most distinctive feature of this competition was the "Absolute PnL Leaderboard," with a prize pool that would unlock based on the total trading volume. This pool was set to activate once the overall volume reached $10 million.
However, the final total trading volume was approximately $1.9 million. Unfortunately, this fell short of the target, and as a result, the Absolute PnL prize pool was not distributed.
On the other hand, the following prizes were awarded as planned:
- Relative PnL (ROI) Leaderboard: A fixed prize pool of 3,000 USDC was distributed among the top 20 traders based on Return on Investment (ROI).
- Streak Bonus: A bonus (totaling 1,500 USDC) was awarded to traders who executed trades on at least 5 out of the 7 competition days.
This outcome demonstrates both the appeal of a dynamic structure where community activity directly impacts rewards and the difficulty of setting achievable targets.
Top Performers Analysis (ROI)
Despite the challenging market conditions and short timeframe, skilled traders on the ROI leaderboard achieved impressive results.
| Rank | Name | Prize (USDC) | ROI | PnL (USDC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sniper | $500 | 57.85% | +$58.99 |
| 2 | Minions | $350 | 43.31% | +$43.63 |
| 3 | JJVL | $275 | 36.98% | +$480.69 |
A special mention goes to JJVL, who finished in 3rd place. Their PnL exceeded +$480, making it the largest absolute profit among the top ROI performers. This highlights the importance of not just achieving a high ROI but also leveraging capital efficiency to secure substantial real-dollar gains.
Trading Volume and Style Analysis
Similar to the first Onchain Royale, all trading was conducted via the Crypto.com Onchain Wallet, which meant that 100% of the trades were Taker orders. This constraint forced all participants into an aggressive trading style that took liquidity from the order book.
Top 5 by Trading Volume
- X man: 199,510 USDC
- Zeus: 179,527 USDC
- Oulunrobinhood: 171,807 USDC
- Wei: 165,401 USDC
- Loh hong fong: 149,409 USDC
The relationship between trading volume and final performance revealed interesting trends.
- Success Story: The top volume trader, X man, also secured 4th place on the ROI leaderboard, successfully converting active trading into profit.
- No Correlation: In contrast, the second and third highest volume traders, Zeus and Oulunrobinhood, did not rank among the top ROI performers. This shows that in a short-term competition, high trading volume does not guarantee profit, underscoring the critical importance of risk management.
Conclusion and Future Outlook
"Onchain Royale Season 2" demonstrated the potential of a dynamic, volume-based prize pool to increase community engagement. While the total trading volume of $1.9 million was a valuable contribution to the dYdX ecosystem, the failure to meet the prize target provided important lessons for future event design.
Furthermore, the low activation rate and the performance of traders in a challenging Taker-only environment suggest a need for improved platform usability and a wider variety of competition formats.
Leveraging the insights from this event, the dYdX Trading Arena will continue to collaborate with community leaders worldwide to organize more engaging and equitable events for all traders.