It’s Ready Trader Go time!

Are you ready to put your coding skills to the test for the chance to win €30,000?

Welcome to Ready Trader Go, a student coding competition that dives into the world of algorithmic trading.

As a leading global market maker, Optiver is dedicated to improving markets by providing competitive prices for thousands of financial instruments on exchanges around the world. Our world-class teams develop sophisticated trading algorithms to continuously generate fairer options prices for end investors.

In this global competition, you’ll be tasked with doing the same. Over two rounds, you’ll compete to build and optimise a trading algorithm for Optiver’s simulated market exchange. Finish in the top 16 to win a cash prize and qualify to compete in the grand final. The best performing algorithm will secure the first-place prize of €30,000!

The challenge

You’ll go head-to-head to build a trading algorithm for a new fictional financial instrument, OPTI-ETF. The market for this product is still young, and it needs your help to grow. Your goal is to ensure it becomes one of the most actively traded products on the exchange.

Your autotrader must provide competitive prices and volumes that will encourage other participants in the market to also trade in OPTI-ETF. You’ll need to do this while creating healthy profits and staying within pre-defined risk parameters.

Find out more about how to play here.

Competition timeline

This is a global competition so please remember to check the deadlines listed below in your local timezone.

23 January, 2023

Registration open

Compete individually or form a team of up to three. Try and ensure your team incorporates both programming and data analysis skills.

5 March, 2023

Registration close

Make sure you register by 11pm CET, Sunday, 5 March 2023. No late entries will be accepted.

7 March, 2023

Competition open

You will receive the source code and resources that will explain everything you need to know about trading. We’ll also provide extra knowledge resources that you can use for your research.

10 March, 2023

Q&A session US & EU

Attend our interactive Q&A session with Optiver’s engineers to get clarification on any questions you may have about the competition.

12 March, 2023

Round 1 submit code

Submit your code for round 1 into our Git repository by 11pm CET.

14 March, 2023

Leaderboard update

The 1st round of submitted code will be run on Optiver’s simulated exchange. The results from round 1 will be published on the leaderboard.

19 March, 2023

Round 2 submit code

Use the feedback in your log file(s) to optimise your autotrader. Resubmit your code for Round 2 into our Git repository before 11pm CET.

20 March, 2023

Leaderboard update

The 2nd round of submitted code will be run on Optiver’s simulated exchange. The results from round 2 will be published on the leaderboard. The top 16 teams will move on to the grand final.

23 March, 2023

Grand final code submission

The top 16 teams will use the feedback from the previous rounds to further optimise their algorithm. Resubmit your code into our Git repository before 11pm CET.

26 March, 2023

Grand final announcement

The results are in! The final round will be published on the leaderboard.

23 January, 2023

Registration open

Compete individually or form a team of up to three. Try and ensure your team incorporates both programming and data analysis skills.

6 March, 2023

Registration close

Make sure you register by 9am AEDT, Monday, 6 March 2023. No late entries will be accepted.

8 March, 2023

Competition open

You will receive the source code and resources that will explain everything you need to know about trading. We’ll also provide extra knowledge resources that you can use for your research.

10 March, 2023

Q&A session APAC

Attend our interactive Q&A session with Optiver’s engineer to get clarification on any questions you may have about the competition.

13 March, 2023

Round 1 submit code

Submit your code for round 1 into our Git repository by 9am AEDT.

15 March, 2023

Leaderboard update

The 1st round of submitted code will be run on Optiver’s simulated exchange. The results from round 1 will be published on the leaderboard.

20 March, 2023

Round 2 submit code

Use the feedback in your log file(s) to optimise your autotrader. Resubmit your code for Round 2 into our Git repository before 9am AEDT.

21 March, 2023

Leaderboard update

The 2nd round of submitted code will be run on Optiver’s simulated exchange. The results from round 2 will be published on the leaderboard. The top 16 teams will move on to the grand final.

24 March, 2023

Grand final code submission

The top 16 teams will use the feedback from the previous rounds to further optimise their algorithm. Resubmit your code into our Git repository before 9am AEDT.

27 March, 2023

Grand final announcement

The results are in! The results from the final round will be published on the leaderboard page.

23 January, 2023

Registration open

Compete individually or form a team of up to three. Try and ensure your team incorporates both programming and data analysis skills.

5 March, 2023

Registration close

Make sure you register by 4pm CST, Sunday, 5 March 2023. No late entries will be accepted.

7 March, 2023

Competition open

You will receive the source code and resources that will explain everything you need to know about trading. We’ll also provide extra knowledge resources that you can use for your research.

10 March, 2023

Q&A session US & EU

Attend our interactive Q&A session with Optiver’s engineers to get clarification on any questions you may have about the competition.

12 March, 2023

Round 1 submit code

Submit your code for round 1 into our Git repository by 5pm CDT.

14 March, 2023

Leaderboard update

The 1st round of submitted code will be run on Optiver’s simulated exchange. The results from round 1 will be published on the leaderboard.

19 March, 2023

Round 2 submit code

Use the feedback in your log file(s) to optimise your autotrader. Resubmit your code for Round 2 into our Git repository before 5pm CDT.

20 March, 2023

Leaderboard update

The 2nd round of submitted code will be run on Optiver’s simulated exchange. The results from round 2 will be published on the leaderboard. The top 16 teams will move on to the grand final.

23 March, 2023

Grand final code submission

The top 16 teams will use the feedback from the previous rounds to further optimise their algorithm. Resubmit your code into our Git repository before 5pm CDT.

27 March, 2023

Grand final announcement

The results are in! The results from the final round will be published on the leaderboard page.

Entry

Each team must be made up of a maximum of three students who are currently enrolled in any course at a university in Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Singapore, Mainland China, the UK, EU (including countries part of the Schengen Area) or the USA. 

The competition is designed for those new to the world of algorithmic trading. To keep it fair anyone who works at, or has accepted an offer from, Optiver or any of its direct competitors may not compete in Ready Trader Go.

Prizes

The prize money is in Euros:

  • 1st = €30,000
  • 2nd = €10,000
  • 3rd = €5,000
  • 4th to 8th = €2,000
  • 9th to 16th = €1,000

* The prize money will be converted to a local currency where applicable. For more information, please read the Terms & Conditions.

Learn more about Optiver

To discover more about who we are and what we do, visit optiver.com

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