GATC FAQ

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About the competition

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What is GATC, and who can enter?

GATC stands for Global AI Trading Championship. It is an AI trading competition using live brokerage accounts, initiated by GATL together with TQX, brokerage partners, compute providers, and AI technology platforms. Participants must be at least 18, meet the securities trading requirements in their jurisdiction, and satisfy competition eligibility requirements. Results come from linked live brokerage accounts; simulation results do not count. The initial markets are Hong Kong and US stocks.

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Does participating use Qube credits?

Creating strategies and running backtests in Qube uses Qube credits, whether you use the web interface or CLI. Qube membership is not required for competition scoring. Sending trading instructions to a linked brokerage account through TQX CLI does not itself use Qube credits.

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Registration and accounts

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How do I enter?

Registration opened on July 1, 2026 at 00:00 Hong Kong time and remains open during the season. The season runs from August 1, 2026 at 00:00 to July 31, 2027 at 23:59 Hong Kong time.

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Which brokers can I link?

Supported connections currently include Zhangle, Panda, and Tiger in Hong Kong, and Tiger in Singapore. US brokerage connections are not yet available. The accounts page lists the available connections.

View account linking screenshots

Each individual may enter with one linked brokerage account per quarter. If duplicate accounts are identified, only the earliest approved account is retained.

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What if LongPort shows Unsupported broker?

Follow the LongPort account linking instructions: sign out of the LongPort dashboard, then restart linking from the Panda account linking page.

View the LongPort interface

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Can I use a Qube strategy? Do I need a subscription?

You can use a Qube strategy as a starting point, modify it, and execute it through a local coding agent and TQX CLI. Running a public template unchanged does not meet the original-strategy requirement. A Qube subscription is not a condition for appearing on the leaderboard.

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Who schedules daily checks and weekly rebalancing?

You are responsible for configuring and maintaining your coding agent’s schedule. The competition system does not run daily checks or weekly rebalancing for you. Set up tasks in the scheduling tools supported by your agent. Check whether each task runs locally or in the cloud, and whether it requires your computer to remain awake. Configure the permissions needed for the task and verify that scheduled runs can complete. Trading decisions and execution must comply with the competition’s AI-only requirements.

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Leaderboards and data

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Where can I view rankings and trades?

Lightweight and heavyweight tiers have separate rankings.

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Why is my account missing or my score not updating?

Your account normally appears on the monthly leaderboard about 15 minutes after entry. If its status remains Pending, query account assets or positions through CLI to check the connection. If the status still does not update after two hours, contact support through Discord or email audrey@tqx.ai. Only eligible trades from the linked brokerage account submitted and reported through TQX CLI count toward results. Orders placed only in a broker’s app do not count.

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What data can my strategy use?

You can use data with verifiable sources, including broker-provided real-time market data. Qube research data covers Hong Kong and US stocks, using .HK and .NB symbols respectively. Trading instructions must still be sent through TQX CLI using its required symbol format. Some leaderboard data may be delayed by up to 15 minutes. See the data guide for research data coverage.

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Scoring and tiers

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What do account equity, NAV, and points mean?

• Account equity determines the tier. It consists of cash and position value, with competition adjustments, expressed in HKD.
• NAV measures monthly performance. Resetting NAV to 1.0000 each month does not withdraw funds from the account.
• Composite score ranges from 0 to 100 and determines the monthly live performance ranking. Monthly points are used for prize ranking.

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How is the composite score calculated?

Closed trades are closing sales matched to earlier platform-recorded purchases on a first-in, first-out basis. They count toward the month of sale. Realized profit deducts actual purchase cost and fees from sale proceeds.

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How is my tier determined?

The tier is locked before market open on the first trading day of each month, based on account equity:

• Lightweight: HKD 1,000 ≤ total equity < HKD 100,000.
• Heavyweight: total equity ≥ HKD 100,000.

Deposits, withdrawals, and market movements during the month do not change that month’s tier. Accounts approved after the first trading day are assigned a tier using total equity at approval, including existing positions. A broker’s account-opening deposit requirement is separate from the competition’s HKD 1,000 minimum. Next month’s tier is based on equity at the start of that month. After three consecutive months in the heavyweight tier, a withdrawal that reduces equity below HKD 100,000 does not change the tier unless the withdrawal explanation is approved. Quarterly and annual tiers follow the tier with more valid participation months in that period. A tie is assigned to the heavyweight tier.

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What counts as a valid participation month?

All four conditions must be met:

• Eligible participation funds.
• A monthly composite score above 0.
• Valid participation status.
• The required number of Active Days.

Otherwise, that month receives 0 points and does not count toward the valid participant total. Quarterly awards require at least 2 valid months; annual awards require at least 8. An Active Day is a trading day when the strategy is running and submits a decision through TQX CLI. An explicitly recorded decision to hold without opening a new position counts. A day with neither a running strategy nor a CLI decision does not count. At least 50% of market trading days from approval through month-end must be Active Days, rounded up. For example, 20 remaining trading days require 10 Active Days; 15 require 8.

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How are points allocated?

Each tier has a monthly base pool of 100,000 points:

• Actual pool = 100,000 × (1 + 0.25 × ln(valid participants in the tier)).
• Allocation weight = composite score ^ 2.6.
• Individual points = actual pool × individual weight / total weight in the tier.

Each account is capped at 30,000 points per month. Excess points are not awarded or redistributed. The tiers have separate pools. Quarterly and annual points are the sum of the corresponding monthly points.

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How are ties resolved?

Monthly awards compare monthly points, then final composite score, then net return, then lower maximum drawdown. If all remain equal, the prize is shared. Quarterly and annual awards compare total points for the period, then average composite score across valid months, then net return, then lower maximum drawdown. If all remain equal, the prize is shared.

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Prizes and settlement

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When are results settled?

Monthly results are settled after month-end. Official points are determined on the first business day of the following month, with a three-calendar-day publication period. Season quarters end on October 31, 2026; January 31, 2027; April 30, 2027; and July 31, 2027. Quarterly points sum the three months in the quarter; annual points sum all 12 months. Tiers are ranked separately.

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What are the prize pools?

Amounts below are in HKD. Compute amounts are compute credit value, separate from cash. In prize tables, an amount for a rank range is the amount per winner in that range. Unfilled places are not reassigned to higher ranks or transferred to the other tier.

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How are winners contacted and prizes paid?

Staff contact winners by email to collect payment details. Verify the sender before sharing information. Payment timing follows the official settlement notice. Each party bears its own transfer fees, and winners are responsible for their applicable taxes. For competition requirements and official notices, see the competition rules. For questions about settlement, contact support.