The Duke FinTech Trading Competition 2026 is now live!
Winning traders will have their name engraved on a plaque under our official Trading Competition bell where they will bask in glory alongside other past winners over the years to come.
Winner’s Bell
Important Dates
14 Jan 2026: Installfest
Those located near the Durham NC area are invited to join us at 5PM EST in Wilkinson Building room 136 for refreshments. We’ll help you install what you need to get signed up for the competition and trading.
We’ll be available on the Discord channel to provide support and answer questions for those unable to attend in person.
21 Jan 2026: PHASE 1: Experimental Trading
Many traders have expressed an interest in having an experimental phase in which they practice with the Trader Workstation. Based on this feedback we’ll allow an experimental phase this year. During this period we’ll still be posting weekly scores as they become available.
02 Feb 2026: LAST DAY TO REGISTER / RESET ACCOUNT
We’ll accept new registrants up to the end of the experimental phase. Traders will have the right – but not the obligation – to request one account reset, which will delete all of your positions and reset your account balance to $1 million cash. If you’re happy with your positions, however, you don’t have to take a reset if you don’t want it.
08 Feb 2026: PHASE 2: SCORING STARTS
This is when we’ll begin keeping score. We will hold a few popup help sessions on Discord to help you get set up during the experimental phase.
04 May 2025: COMPETITION ENDS
All of your end-of-day Net Account Values between 05 Feb and 04 May 2025 will be used in the calculation of your scores, with 04 May being the final date. After that day the competition will be over and winners will be declared.
The Duke FinTech Trading Competition is a 3-month long event in which student traders from around the world create paper trading accounts at Interactive Brokers and trade anything they want, including stocks, bonds, options, futures, currencies, crypto, and any of the other products offered by Interactive Brokers.
Due to the way in which we score & rank our participants, if you do well in this competition, it’s because you’re a good trader. Furthermore, we’ve introduced a bracket system this year to keep ALL of our traders interested and engaged. In the new system, even if you don’t stand much chance of taking the #1 spot overall, you can still compete for a top rank within your bracket, giving you a hard-earned accomplishment that you can report on your resume or CV.
To see how we accompilsh all this – and what makes us special – check out our scoring philosophy. Then you can begin the sign up process!
As a participating trader in this competition you will:
- Download Trader Workstation (Interactive Brokers’ professional-grade trading platform) and use it to trade real assets with real market prices using simulated money
- Join the Gothic Hedge Hub (our companion Discord Server) which you can use to communicate with other traders, the Competition admins, and industry sponsors
- Gain a chance to show recruiters and the world your trading skills
Go ahead and join now! We’ll look forward to seeing you in the Discord server :)
ELIGIBILITY
The Duke FINTECH Trading Competition is a free competition hosted by the FINTECH Program at Duke University.
The Competition is FREE and available to anyone!
Participants are issued $1 million in simulated currency within a paper trading account provided by Interactive Brokers. Students will have the opportunity to trade equities, fixed income, derivatives, ETFs, cryptocurrencies, and more, all based on real-time streaming market data using the same user interface and features utilized by professional traders.
The FINTECH program at Duke is inclusive and welcoming. Participation is welcome and encouraged, so please help spread the word! Standings for traders will be posted here and updated daily as data become available. This site will continue to grow as new features are brought onboard so be sure to check back often for updates!!!