Q24 Crypto TOP10 — clarifying questions on payout model, ranking, and dashboard tabs

NongNat

Hi Quantiacs team,

I've been working on Q24 Crypto TOP10 submissions and after reading the
Q24-crypto-guide repo I have a few clarifying questions that aren't covered in the
notebook. Posting them as a single thread to keep things tidy. Any answers (even
partial) would be very helpful for planning.

Ranking metric — IS Sharpe or Live Sharpe?

The repo says: "Top 7 unique-user eligible strategies ranked by highest Sharpe ratio
are winners."

Is the ranking Sharpe based on:
(a) In-sample Sharpe (used for the eligibility filter ≥ 1.0)?
(b) Live-period Sharpe (Apr 1 → contest end)?
(c) A combined or weighted version?

This matters a lot for design choices.

"Unique user" — best strategy only, or multiple allowed?

If a single user has multiple strategies in the top 10 by Sharpe, are they all
eligible as winners, or only the highest-ranked one per user counts? Phrased
differently: can one account win more than one prize slot in Q24?

Q24 prize structure — same as Q17?

The repo doesn't list prize amounts. Are the Q24 prizes the same as Q17 ($1M / $750K
/ $500K / $100K / $50K × 3 for top 7), or has the structure changed alongside the
new payout model?

Contest end date + submission deadline?

The notebook references scale_date = '2022-08-31' and Live 2022-10-01 → 2023-10-01
as the Q17 example. What are the equivalent Q24 dates? Specifically:

When is the submission deadline (last day to add new strategies)?
When is scale_date (when vol-scale factors get locked)?
When does the Live payout phase begin?
When does it end?

Dashboard tab semantics

The contestant dashboard shows tabs: Checking, Candidates, In Contest, After
Contest, Filtered, Deleted. The documentation (passFilters.html) only mentions
Checking / Candidates / Filtered. Could you clarify:

What does "In Contest" mean? Is it strategies currently in the live payout phase
(i.e. selected winners post-scale_date)?
What does "After Contest" mean? Strategies from previous contest cycles whose
payout period ended?
For a strategy currently in Candidates during the live phase, is that the
"in-contest" state, or do strategies need to move to In Contest at scale_date?

PayoutScore < 1.0 — zero or partial?

The formula is PayoutScore = SubmissionEquity / max(BenchmarkEquity, 1.0). The
notebook says "negative performance will not be rewarded." Does this mean:
(a) If SubmissionEquity < 1.0 (i.e. strategy lost money in live), payout is zero,
full stop?
(b) Or is payout reduced proportionally?

And separately, if SubmissionEquity ≥ 1.0 but PayoutScore < 1.0 (i.e. I made money
but lost to benchmark), is there still a partial payout, or zero?

PayoutScore → cash mapping

Once PayoutScore is computed, how does it map to actual dollars? Is there a formula
like payout = base_amount × PayoutScore capped at the prize tier? Or is the prize
amount fixed per rank and PayoutScore only affects ranking?

Thanks in advance — I'm trying to plan strategy submissions properly and these
answers will affect what types of strategies I prioritize for the remaining ~2
months of the live phase. Happy to consolidate the answers into a community FAQ if
useful for other contestants.

Best,
Natpaphon

support

@nongnat Hi,

Ranking metric is Sharpe Ratio of the Contest Period (specifically for Q24 Contest it is April 1, 2026 - July 31, 2026).
Unique user - each user can only win one prize .
The prize structure is the same as all earlier competitions - allocation to top 7 submissions with structure $1M / $750K / $500K / $100K / $50K × 3
The notebook example/template is made for Q24 Contest. Scale date in the template is chosen randomly just as simulation, to present how the scaling function works. Q24 dates are:

Last date for Q24 submissions -> March 31, 2026
Scale date -> July 31, 2026
Live payouts -> September 1, 2026 - September 1, 2027

'In Contest' - submissions selected to participate to certain contest, and contest is still in the Contest Period (like Q24 at the moment).
'After Contest' - submissions from all earlier completed contests.
Strategies in Candidates, cannot be selected to running contests in which Entry phase is over (Contest Period started).
SubmissionEquity <= 1.0 - no payouts. SubmissionEquity > 1.0 but underperforms the benchmark - no payouts. SubmissionEquity > 1.0 and overperforms the benchmark, there are payouts calculated by the formula.
Payouts are calculated at the end of each month of Payout phase, based on the profit generated relative to the benchmark (only new profits):
Prize * 0.1 * (PayoutScore – 1.0),
which means 10% of the profit generated.

You can also check the Official rules for Q24 https://quantiacs.com/contest/24.
Please feel free to ask if you have any further questions.

Best regards,