Surge Season 12 continues into March, featuring three primary incentive initiatives aimed at increasing trading activity and attracting new participants to dYdX:
- BONK $50,000 P&L Trading Competition, titled “March BONKness”
- Zero Maker & Taker Fees on BTC and BONK perpetual markets
- Liquidation Rebates for traders liquidated on non-BTC pairs
dYdX Surge Season 12 Details
CryptoLearningClub (CLC) is pleased to announce the full breakdown for Season 12 of the dYdX Surge Rewards Program, designed to encourage consistent and organic trading growth on the platform.
Season 12 will take place from 00:00 UTC on March 1, 2026 through 23:59 UTC on March 31, 2026. This season represents the third month of the proposed six-month Surge renewal period that commenced in January.
BONK Trading League
As part of Season 12, dYdX traders will have the opportunity to compete for a share of up to $50,000 in DYDX rewards through a P&L-based trading competition held in collaboration with BONK.
The competition will run from March 1 to March 31, 2026, and will be branded as “March BONKness”. This initiative is designed to stimulate retail trading participation, introduce new users to the BONK ecosystem (a dYdX community-approved partner) and deepen long-term strategic alignment between BONK and the dYdX protocol.
Competition Overview
- Format: P&L-based Trading League
- Duration: March 1, 2026 - March 31, 2026
- Eligibility:
- Non-API traders
- Traders using the bonk.trade UI powered by dYdX
- Prize Pool: Up to $50,000 in DYDX, distributed to the top 20 traders by P&L
- 1st: $12,500
- 2nd: $7,500
- 3rd: $5,000
- 4th–5th: $2,500 each
- 6th–10th: $2,000 each
- 11th–20th: $1,000 each
In December 2025, the dYdX community formally approved BONK as an official integration partner, including a revenue-sharing framework. As one of the largest retail-focused ecosystems on Solana, BONK has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to activate and mobilize users across its partner network.
Through a (BONK-branded frontend powered by dYdX](BONKtrade - powered by dYdX) infrastructure, the collaboration establishes a dedicated distribution channel aimed at onboarding a broad base of retail traders onto the dYdX protocol.
This competition will reward $50,000 in DYDX (416,666.67 DYDX* calculated using a 30-day TWAP at a $0.12* DYDX token price) from the dYdX Community Treasury to fund a one-month, PnL-based trading competition in partnership with BONK.
*The TWAP and total amount of DYDX will be updated as of the distribution date after the competition has elapsed.
Trade BTC & BONK Perpetuals for Zero Maker and Taker fees on dYdX
Alongside the BONK Trading League, March incentives include a 100% maker and taker fee discount on BTC and BONK perpetual markets.
As approved by the dYdX community, BTC and BONK perpetuals will remain fee-free for all traders throughout March. Please note that other costs including gas fees, bridging costs, slippage, and any applicable third-party fees are unaffected. Any continuation or modification of fee discounts beyond this period will remain subject to governance approval.
Up To $1M Liquidation Rebate Program
Originally launched in December 2025 with a dedicated leaderboard, the Liquidation Rebate Program introduced a gamified incentive mechanism designed to support perpetual traders who incur losses on dYdX.
For March, the program will continue to rebate a portion of losses resulting from liquidations on non-BTC perpetual markets. More information, including historical performance metrics, is available here.
Eligible traders may now claim rebates covering the period from January 1 - January 31, 2026.
Season 12 expands on the established Surge framework by providing multiple avenues for participation throughout March, including competitive trading incentives, fee reductions, and downside mitigation mechanisms.
CryptoLearningClub, with support from dYdX Labs, will oversee reward calculations and submit a comprehensive distribution proposal following the conclusion of the season.
We’re excited to launch Season 12 and continue building the next phase of Surge.