In this interview, we spoke with Chris Grundy, Chief Marketing Officer at dYdX — a leading decentralized exchange with over $1.4 trillion in total trading volume and more than 200 markets available. The AMA focused primarily on the dYdX Surge Program, the largest DeFi trading competition to date.

Chris shared valuable insights into how the event works, how rewards are distributed among users, and what exciting developments are coming next for dYdX. He also answered several interesting questions from the community.

Join the BeInCrypto Trading Community, participate in our AMA sessions, and earn cash prizes for your questions to our guest speakers!

BeInCrypto: Get ready for this AMA, Community! Today we welcome Chris Grundy, Chief Marketing Officer at dYdX. 

And we’re going to discuss a hot topic – the DeFi’s largest trading competition, the dYdX Surge Program 🔥

Chris, let’s kick things off with the latest updates. What’s new in the dYdX ecosystem? I’ve heard there’s been a major update to the mobile app interface and some exciting campaigns launching recently, but maybe I missed something?

Chris: Thank you very much for having me. It’s a pleasure to get to speak with the BeinCrypto community today. 2025 has been a wild ride so far, with lots of activity in the markets and just as much activity in the dYdX ecosystem. 

Already this year the new iOS App launched and the DYDX buyback program started. The new Kaito dYdX Leaderboard now rewards people for talking about dYdX on Twitter and as you mentioned dYdX Surge launched a 9 month, $20M trading competition. What makes Surge special, beyond the $20M prize pool, is that it’s not based on P&L or ROI; it’s designed to reward deeper engagement with dYdX so traders dont need deep pockets or crazy skills to get a monthly payout.

BeInCrypto: Can you explain the dYdX Surge program and what it’s all about? I’m sure our traders would love to know more!

Chris: Of course. dYdX Surge is probably the largest and longest running trading competition in DeFi. Over nine seasons, traders on dYdX can earn a share of the massive $20M prize pool, with up to $2.2M in DYDX being distributed every month. 

Importantly, Surge doesnt make traders compete on P&L or ROI, but instead rewards the depth of engagement with the dYdX ecosystem. Trading boosted markets like XRP for example, earns double the points, and trading through the front-end and mobile apps gives a points boost too. As you can see, Surge is designed to reward the dYdX Community at large, rather than just those with deep pockets and outlier skill-levels. 

Like everything on dYdX, Surge is permissionless meaning that no sign-up or prize-claim is required. Traders on dYdX automatically earn points for their activity which then translate to payouts at the end of the month.

Surge Season 2 is already underway so it’s not too late to earn some points. For those looking to start fresh, Season 3 is expected to launch in early June. Readers who have been active on dYdX in April may have earned points and received a payout automatically. Check your dYdX Wallet Address on the Points Leaderboard here: link

BeInCrypto: How can users get involved with dYdX Surge in a simple way? Especially those newbies who just learnt about CEXes and might be too afraid of the DEX world? 🙏

Chris: Surge is permissionless and straight-forward, so traders dont need to register or claim to participate. In fact, it’s super simple to take part.

Here’s how it works:

• Connect your wallet (MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet etc) on dydx.trade or use the mobile apps
• Trade perps — every trade earns points
• Get paid monthly in DYDX based on your points & rank

If folks are still unsure, I’m happy to answer any questions from experts and newbies here and on twitter . We also have a lot of help material such as: YouTube | dYdX Website | dYdX blog

BeInCrypto: What kind of rewards or benefits can users expect from joining the Surge program?

Chris: Even casual traders earned over $100 in Season 1, with more than 250 participants earning $500+. With that in mind, the rewards are quite generous. To maximise their points traders should know that: 

• 3x points for trading via the web or mobile UI (vs. API).
• 2x points for trading in boosted markets (e.g., SUI, XRP, KAITO, AIXBT).

BeInCrypto: Can you share any numbers or stats from the Surge program last month?

Chris: Season 1 wrapped up in April with 2,800 traders receiving a share of $1.4M in DYDX rewards. Over 600 traders earned more than $100, and 50 earned over $3,000, just by trading as they normally would on dYdX.

BeInCrypto: Are there any requirements or restrictions for users who want to join the Surge program?

Chris: U.S. persons and users in certain restricted jurisdictions cannot use dYdX and of course wash trading or manipulative behavior will disqualify you from receiving rewards. 

Apart from this anyone who trades on dYdX will automatically qualify for points. For traders who want to get started, all that is needed is a compatible self-custody wallet (like MetaMask) some funds deposited from a compatible chain (Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, Polygon, Base and Optimism) and some activity on dYdX. It’s pretty simple.

BeInCrypto: How do you ensure that the rewards in Surge are distributed fairly to everyone?

Chris: To keep it fair, Chaos Labs checks all trading data at the end of each season. They remove wash trades or anything that looks like manipulation. Only real, organic trading volume counts.

All payouts are approved through on-chain governance and published publicly, so the entire process is verifiable. The system is designed to reward real traders fairly, not just whales or bots. https://www.mintscan.io/dydx/proposals/243

BeInCrypto: How does dYdX Surge fit into the bigger picture of dYdX’s mission to innovate and promote decentralized trading?

Chris: Surge makes trading on dYdX way more rewarding than a CEX. On most centralized exchanges, you pay high fees and get nothing back. On dYdX, every trade earns DYDX rewards and Surge points, so traders just get way more bang for their buck.

Traders still get the same pro-level experience, with deep liquidity and mobile/web access, but now they’re also getting paid to trade. It’s decentralized, transparent, and built to reward the trader, not the exchange.

BeInCrypto: What exciting new features or developments can we expect to see from dYdX in the future?

Chris: Lots of great things in the pipeline at dYdX. I’m particularly excited for spot, multi-asset margining and EVM support because these will fundamentally reshape the way traders engage with dYdX.  

Additionally, I’m excited by the performance improvements I’m seeing on the exchange. In a week in which Bloomberg’s Terminal went down, it’s cool to see dYdX’s reliability and latency getting better and better.

BeInCrypto: Great, now let’s move to the questions from our Community 😎

The first question is from @SusanneCooper12: Considering dYdX’s use of monthly leaderboards and payout structures in the Surge program, how does this system incentivize sustained user participation and fair competition among traders, and what safeguards are in place to deter manipulation or wash trading?

Chris: Chaos Labs runs detailed checks at the end of each Surge season to detect and remove manipulation. They look for things like wash trading, self-matching, low-fee churn volume, and other behaviors that don’t generate real market activity.

They use on-chain data and internal algorithms to flag suspicious accounts, then manually review edge cases. Accounts that fail these checks are excluded from rewards. This helps ensure that DYDX is going to real traders—not bots gaming the system.

All final reward data is posted publicly, and the community votes on distributions before they go on-chain. It’s a transparent, data-driven process designed to protect the integrity of the program.

BeInCrypto: @VictoryBuiTR: What role does community education play in the Surge Program’s success, and how is dYdX addressing the knowledge gap for users unfamiliar with decentralized perpetual trading?

Chris: Community education is huge for Surge. A lot of new users are coming from CEXs and aren’t familiar with wallets, staking, or perps on-chain. dYdX is tackling that with simple onboarding, mobile-first design, and clear reward structures that show users the value right away.

There’s also content across the blog, Help Center, and Youtube, plus more explainer threads and videos on the way. The goal is to make decentralized trading feel just as intuitive as a CEX, while being way more rewarding.

BeInCrypto: @phamngocanh256: What types of trading activities are counted toward the competition — is it purely based on trading volume, or are there multipliers or bonuses for specific behaviors such as liquidity provision, frequent trading, or onboarding new users?

Chris: Surge rewards are mainly based on taker trading volume, but there are big multipliers that boost your points. Traders get 3x rewards for using the web or mobile UI, 2x for trading in boosted markets like XRP or SUI, and extra points if they stake DYDX with the same wallet.

It’s not just raw volume, frequent traders using the right setup can earn way more than bots or whales. Liquidity provision isn’t rewarded yet, but maker rewards are coming later in the program. No bonuses for referrals yet, but the structure is built to reward real, engaged users.

BeInCrypto: @Godstroyer003: Looking at the broader DeFi landscape, how does dYdX’s roadmap position it to remain a leader in decentralized derivatives trading, and what future developments (e.g., spot markets, cross-chain interoperability, or new asset classes) are expected to drive continued growth and adoption?

Chris: Lots of great things in the pipeline at dYdX. I’m particularly excited for spot, multi-asset margining and EVM support because these will fundamentally reshape the way traders engage with dYdX.  

Additionally, I’m excited by the performance improvements I’m seeing on the exchange. In a week in which Bloomberg’s Terminal went down, it’s cool to see dYdX’s reliability and latency getting better and better.

BeInCrypto: @USLoropiana: With centralized exchanges like Binance still dominating trading volumes, what’s dYdX’s boldest strategy to not just compete but completely redefine the trading landscape and pull users away from CEXs for good?

Chris: The ‘Trade Anything’ Vision is what I find most compelling. With Instant Market Listings and MegaVault, the community can now list new perp markets instantly and without permission. Over 150 new markets launched already, with 500+ expected by the end of 2025.

That’s already a very cool and clear differentiator to CEX’s, which have listing committees, listing fees and long evaluation times. But I think this vision is particularly powerful once tokenization hits its stride. I find the idea of trading formerly illiquid assets as perps very compelling and a clear differentiator to CEX’s.

The goal is simple: let users trade any asset with instant liquidity, fully on-chain. No gatekeepers. No delays. Just pure decentralized market access.

BeInCrypto: Great, Chris, thank you for being here today 🫶🏻

The AMA session with Chris Grundy provided clear insights into the dYdX Surge Program, where users can earn monthly rewards from a $20 million prize pool — without relying on P&L or ROI. This opens up opportunities for even beginner traders to participate and benefit. Chris also shared valuable updates on dYdX’s roadmap, including plans to expand to over 500 trading markets by the end of 2025, as well as introduce multi-asset margining and EVM support.

Big thanks to Chris Grundy for sharing insights about the dYdX ecosystem and the future of decentralized trading, as well as answering questions from the BeInCrypto community.