Quant Competition Update — November 2026
May 2026 Flagship and Season 1: USD43,500 Paid Out and What Comes Next
Since May, AlphaNova has paid out USD43,500 in cash prizes or stablecoin to our community of quants, data scientists and alpha researchers.
That figure comes from two sources: USD36,000 from our May 2026 flagship competition, which concluded at the end of July, and USD7,500 across the first three Season 1 biweekly competitions. At the time of writing, another USD5,000 is pending as the final two biweeklies complete live scoring.
This post covers the flagship results in full, the latest biweekly winners, and what comes next as we open Season 2.
If you are new to AlphaNova, start with How AlphaNova Competitions Work for the complete format, evaluation and payout rules.
The scoreboard
✅ Paid out: USD43,500 — May 2026 flagship (USD36,000), plus Biweekly #1–#3 (USD7,500)
⏳ Live scoring: USD5,000 — Biweekly #4 and #5
🟢 Opens November 15: Season 2 — new season, no legacy pot
The May 2026 flagship competition
The flagship ran from May to the end of July 2026 and drew more than 7,000 signups — by far our largest event to date.
We put a USD50,000 prize pool on the table, unlocked through two conditions: participation, and the quality signals the community produced. Signups comfortably cleared the 5,000-participant threshold. The signal threshold of 250 quality signals was not quite reached. Together, the community unlocked USD36,000 of the pool.
Competitors went head to head with some of the brightest minds we have seen in this field — many of whom you can meet in our Meet the Minds behind the Models interview series.
The winners
🥇 spottedcorollary — USD21,710.93
🥈 obaba — USD9,046.22
🥉 devnikhilmishra — USD5,427.73
Huge congratulations also to the rest of the top 10:
TAUIL-Abd-Elilah · TaroKogawa (two top-10 finishes) · ASH · nerfsaksham · giovanni · fireddd
You can read our interviews with Taro and Saksham here: Meet the Minds behind the Models — Taro Kogawa, and Meet the Minds behind the Models — Saksham Arora
Season 1 biweekly competitions
Season 1 comprised five biweekly competitions, each with a pot of up to USD2,500 plus carry-over. Three cycles are now fully paid out. The remaining two are completing their live scoring windows.
Biweekly #3 winners
🥇 radiant-allomancer — USD1,669.57
🥈 overbearingconfidence — USD695.66
🥉 vj0246 — USD417.39
This cycle carried a larger pot of USD2,782.62, following the carry-over correction we published in our community update. Announced awards reflect the larger pot; actual payments reconcile against Cycle 2 overpayments for the top two finishers.
Earlier winners
For completeness, Biweekly #1 was won by clearcutmeal, entrenchedkingmaker and TaroKogawa. Biweekly #2 was won by radiant-allomancer, overbearingconfidence and cookedjay.
What comes next
Season 1 submissions closed on October 31. The remaining live scoring windows will complete as scheduled, and the final biweekly results will be announced shortly.
Season 2 opens on November 15, 2026 — and it starts clean.
A new season means no legacy pot. Season 1's carry-over does not follow you in. Everyone begins level, and the pot grows only as quality signals are admitted. If you have been watching from the sidelines, this is the cleanest entry point AlphaNova has offered so far.
New competitions open on the 1st and 15th of every month, so there is always an active competition.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do new competitions open?
New competitions open on the 1st and 15th of every month. When one competition closes, the next opens immediately — so there is always an active competition.
How long is the live scoring window?
Exactly one month. A competition that closes on the 1st settles on the 1st of the following month; one that closes on the 15th settles on the 15th of the following month.
How are prizes paid?
At settlement, in cash or stablecoin. There is no staking requirement, no token volatility, and no lock-up period.
Is there an entry fee?
No. Competitions are free to enter, and participants retain full intellectual property over their submissions.
How was the flagship prize pool unlocked?
The May 2026 flagship carried a USD50,000 pool, unlocked through participation and the quality of signals produced. More than 7,000 people signed up, clearing the participation threshold. The 250-quality-signal threshold was not reached, so USD36,000 of the pool was unlocked.
How are winners chosen?
Signals are evaluated walk-forward and out-of-sample using the Sharpe ratio. A greedy quality selection process admits only uncorrelated, overfit-filtered signals — so prize pools grow only when genuine, distinct alpha is found.
Can I enter more than one competition at a time?
Yes. Biweekly competitions overlap by design — a submission in one cycle does not prevent you from submitting in another. Many participants maintain an evolving signal pipeline that they refine across cycles.
What happens in Season 2?
Season 2 opens on November 15, 2026, with five new biweekly competitions and no carry-over from Season 1. Everyone starts level.