Cracked Labs today announced BattleCodes — The DeFi Arena, a high-stakes, esports-style tournament set to redefine crypto events. Hosted on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, at OS NYC in Lower Manhattan, this one-day event combines developer competition with live trading for a $10,000 winner-take-all prize, streamed in real-time on Twitch and YouTube.
Unlike traditional conferences featuring panels and passive engagement, BattleCodes stages a head-to-head bracket competition where ten finalists, and only the best, compete live using BNB Chain via Aster. Participants execute real trades under pressure, with results displayed on venue LED leaderboards and broadcast globally.
Ellis Norman, CEO of Cracked Labs, emphasizes the format shift: “Panels and hackathons aren’t enough anymore. BattleCodes is bringing drama, stakes, and outcomes that matter, tested live, in public.”
A format borrowed from esports, built for crypto
BattleCodes embraces an esports-style structure instead of the standard conference layout. The competition begins with open qualifiers from September 10 to 18 on Aster × BNB Chain, where traders compete for the top 20 spots.
From there, participants refine their strategies and personal profiles in a week-long “Virtual Sprint,” with workshops led by sponsors. A livestreamed Draft Day on September 25 allows partners to draft their finalists, factoring in fan voting and wildcard entries. The selected finalists then enter a week-long Bootcamp (September 26 to October 6), preparing their systems, accounts, and media assets.
The grand finals on October 7 comprise three intense phases:
1. Opening Bell,
2. Endgame Push, and
3. The Cage Match.
All determined by P&L performance, technical execution, and audience engagement. In this tournament, every round is public and decisive. Winners advance, others are eliminated.
The key differentiator of BattleCodes is how sponsors function as foundational pillars, not passive backdrops. BNB Chain provides the execution layer, wallet onboarding, and attribution framework. JZ, Senior Solutions Architect at BNB Chain remarks, “Every trade in BattleCodes runs on BNB Chain. Real execution under pressure is how ecosystems win adoption.”
Meanwhile, Aster delivers the referral funnel, trading infrastructure, and real-time leaderboards, turning participation into measurable ecosystem growth. A spokesperson for Aster states, “BattleCodes turns our platform into a global stage—showing attribution, growth, and performance in real time.”
Additional partner support from: Spartan Lab’s Superfund is contributing to the prediction market activation. Vercel/v0, Axelar, Chainstack, Thirdweb, Lava, ZetaChain, and Alchemy. They all contribute technical reliability, cross-chain tooling, and developer empowerment across the event’s phases.
Why BattleCodes matters
For developers and traders, BattleCodes provides a genuine proving ground in the intersection of Web3: a stage where reputation is earned through live performance, not relegated to GitHub or panel slides. Sponsors benefit from highly vetted talent pools tested under pressure, with attribution from wallet creation to trade volume. Viewers receive a watchable, dynamic experience merging esports energy with DeFi substance. Cracked Labs underlines retention as the mission: turning ephemeral engagement into long-term ecosystem engagement.
To apply as a participant, apply here.
Free Tickets to the event are available here.
About Cracked Labs
Cracked Labs designs programs and competitions that elevate developers into ecosystem founders. With over 100 successful programs across leading blockchains, Cracked Labs is known for creating formats that drive retention, measurable outcomes, and cultural milestones. Learn more at https://crackedlabs.xyz.
About BNB Chain
BNB Chain is a community-driven blockchain ecosystem that is removing barriers to Web3 adoption. It is composed of:
- BNB Smart Chain (BSC): A secure DeFi hub with the lowest gas fees of any EVM-compatible L1; serves as the ecosystem’s governance chain.
- opBNB: A scalability L2 that delivers some of the lowest gas fees of any L2 and rapid processing speeds.
- BNB Greenfield: Meets decentralized storage needs for the ecosystem and lets users establish their own data marketplaces.
Setting a high bar for security, the AvengerDAO community protects BNB Chain users while Red Alarm provides a real-time risk-scanner for Dapps. The ecosystem also offers a range of monetary and ecosystem rewards as part of its Builder Support Program.
For more, follow BNB Chain on X or start exploring via our Dapp library.
About Aster
Aster is a next-generation decentralized exchange offering both Perpetual and Spot trading, designed as a one-stop onchain venue for global crypto traders. It features MEV-free, one-click execution in Simple Mode. Pro Mode adds 24/7 stock perpetuals, Hidden Orders, and grid trading, available across BNB Chain, Ethereum, Solana, and Arbitrum. Its unique edge lies in the ability to offer liquid-staking tokens (asBNB) or yield-generating stablecoins (USDF) as collateral, unlocking unparalleled capital efficiency. Powered by Aster Chain, a high-performance and privacy-focused L1, and backed by YZi Labs, Aster is building the future of DeFi: fast, flexible, and community-first.
Learn more at https://asterdex.com.
This content is sponsored and does not serve as an endorsement by Blockworks. The veracity of this content has not been verified and should not serve as financial advice. We encourage readers to conduct their own research before making financial decisions.
Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:
Source: https://blockworks.co/news/cracked-labs-launches-battlecodes