Chaos Labs Announces Season 8 of the Surge Program
**As of Oct 30 - Please see comment below for an update to Season 8 Program details**
Chaos Labs is pleased to introduce the updated structure for Season 8 of the Surge Program, designed to continue supporting sustainable trading activity on dYdX. Season 8 will run from 00:00 UTC on 1 November to 23:59 UTC on 30 November 2025.
Key Changes for Season 8
50% Fee Rebate
All traders (maker + taker, API and UI) will continue to receive 50% rebates on positive trading fees through the end of the year.
UI Trader Reward Update
The $1,000,000 UI trader reward pool may be replaced by a four-week front-end trading competition pending community/governance approval of the proposal linked here. This weekly trading competition can reward up to $250K per week in DYDX to non-API traders, designed to encourage merit-based, skill-driven competition.
Frontend Fee Rebate Adjustment
Frontend (UI, iOS, Android, Telegram) trading fee rebates will be reduced from 100% to 50%, in anticipation of a community governance proposal to enable fee-free trading on specific markets once the protocol upgrade introducing this functionality is implemented.
Anti-Wash Trading Measures
To protect legitimate traders and maintain program integrity, Chaos Labs will implement rigorous monitoring through our wash trading detection systems. We are committed to taking decisive action against any fraudulent activity to ensure fair reward distribution for genuine participants.
We are making a slight adjustment to the initial Season 8 proposal. Season 8 of the Surge Program will maintain the $1,000,000 reward pool for UI traders, consistent with last month’s structure.
The weekly trading competition of up to $250,000 proposed by CLC will run in conjunction with these rewards, pending community and governance approval of the proposal linked here.
All other Season 8 changes will remain as described in the existing announcement, including the reduction of frontend trading fee rebates from 100% to 50%.
@chaoslabs Hi, are BTC/USD and SOL/USD trades not eligible for frontend rewards anymore? It seems that after the BTC/USD fees were removed yesterday, I am not receiving any rewards for trading on BTC/USD.
They write in the surge program that the rewards are calculated based on positive fees paid.So if the fees are zero it means zero rewards.So from one side when you trade BTC,SOL its fee free but also without rewards
The $1,000,000 UI trader reward pool may be replaced by a four-week front-end trading competition
Does this mean only fee rebates this month? If so, is the Reward page description for Surge 8, the leaderboard, and the estimated reward amount in Estimated Monthly Reward shown on $DYDX Dashboard | Track Your Surge Rewards & Trading History still correct?
In Season 8, all traders will earn 50% of their trading fees (positive fees only) back at the end of the season in DYDX rewards. In addition, $1m in DYDX will be allocated to UI traders, distributed based on their positive fees paid.
The Pocket Pro trading competition will also run alongside Surge Season 8.
Thank you for the clarification on the Surge Season 8 reward structure. It is vital for maintaining transparency and participation.
Given the recent and ongoing volatility in the market, with the DYDX token price currently trading significantly lower than the average of the past month, I strongly propose that the calculation for Season 8 rewards use a 7-Day TWAP instead of the current 30-Day TWAP.
Why the 30-Day TWAP is Detrimental Now:
Lower DYDX Rewards: Using a 30-Day TWAP that is likely much higher than the current price (e.g., in the mid-$\$0.30$s vs. current high $\$0.215$s) means traders will receive fewer DYDX tokens for their fixed USD-denominated reward share.
Trader Dissatisfaction: This discrepancy creates a perception of unfairness. Traders who generated volume and paid fees in good faith during the season will be deeply disappointed when their final reward amount in tokens is severely undercut by a high, lagging average price.
Prevents Program Goal: The core goal of the Surge Program is to encourage trading activity. Using an unfavorable TWAP right now could actively discourage engagement in the upcoming Season 9, as traders may feel penalized for the market’s performance.
Precedent for a Shorter TWAP:
In previous seasons, dYdX has used a shorter TWAP (specifically a 7-day TWAP) to convert USD rewards into DYDX tokens. In fact, forum discussions have previously highlighted the need to reduce the TWAP period to a more responsive timeframe (e.g., 5-day or 7-day) precisely to avoid major discrepancies between the distribution price and the spot price.
I urge@chaoslabsand the community to consider implement a 7-Day TWAP for the Season 8 distribution proposal. This change would:
Ensure Fair Value: Distribute rewards using a token price that is much closer to the recent market reality.
Maintain Trader Confidence: Signal that the DAO is responsive to market conditions and is committed to delivering equitable incentives.
This small, temporary adjustment will go a long way in ensuring traders remain satisfied and continue to drive volume on the dYdX Chain.
The 30 day TWAP from 1st November until 30 November it was 0.282 . I think the decision for a 30 day TWAP it was completely wrong it is not reflecting the current price at no way and cannt be fair at no way not at bear market not at bull market because the crypto market its too volatile for choose a 30 day percentage to pay rewards when the price moves so aggressively . For the fee rebates the best and most fair is to get paid every time you take a trade at the current price on chain as it was until September(but canceled) from the dydx chain.As about the other rewards the best it would be to get paid in usdc , the traders pay in usdc so they get reward in usdc also , as it is happening with staking yield. If this cannt happen then the TWAP could be as closer as possible to the day of proposal
If the 30 days twap price heavily affects the reward, hope the team considers changing it to 7D twap.
Why switching from a 30D TWAP to a 7D TWAP makes sense:
The 30-day window reacts very slowly to market changes, so rewards can end up being influenced by outdated price data.
A 7-day TWAP would better reflect current conditions, provide fairer distribution for recent contributors, and still offer enough stability to prevent short-term manipulation.