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Lugano is gearing up again. The Cypher Tank competition is now accepting applications for 2026, and this edition is bigger than the last.
The first season, launched in 2025, attracted over 4,000 participants from 64 countries. This number speaks volumes about the global appetite for this format—a mix between Shark Tank and a crypto documentary, filmed live, post-produced, and broadcast online. The judges are called “honey badgers.” Founders pitch for real money. And all this takes place in Lugano, a Swiss city clearly betting on Bitcoin as an economic identity. The competition is supported by the Plan ₿ VC Fund and the Plan ₿ Foundation, two entities that finance and guide the ecosystem around the Plan ₿ Forum.
Twelve finalists this year, compared to eleven last year.
Format, Phases, and Prize Money
The competition structure consists of four phases. Applications opened on August 13 and close on September 25. After that, finalists are notified starting September 30. The finals take place from October 25 to 27 at PoW Space Lugano—right after the Plan ₿ Forum, which is no coincidence. The idea is clearly to capture the forum’s momentum to fuel the energy of the pitches.
The three-day program begins with a coaching day. No pitching on the first day—finalists work with experts to refine their presentation skills, how to answer tough questions, and their stance in front of the honey badgers. Then come two days of live presentations and negotiations. Winners are announced at the end of the second day.
Three prizes of $100,000 each. One for incubation. One for acceleration. One for relocation. Beyond the prizes, finalists can secure direct investment from the judges—this is where the Shark Tank format truly comes into play. Not just a trophy. Money changing hands live.
As for distribution, the twelve finalists are divided into eight for-profit projects and four non-profit ones. The source does not specify how the prizes are distributed between these two categories—it’s unclear whether non-profit projects compete for the same $100,000 or a separate pool.
Paolo Ardoino and Adam Back Among Season 1 Judges
The first season featured a strong panel of judges. Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, was there. Adam Back from Blockstream too. Names that draw attention in the Bitcoin ecosystem, providing real legitimacy to the competition—not just a networking event, but a place where influential players potentially put their money on the line.
The first edition offered over $850,000 in total prizes. And the preceding Plan ₿ Forum broke records: over 4,000 in-person participants, 800,000 online viewers. Cypher Tank directly benefited from these numbers. The forum’s audience spills over into the competition, cameras roll, episodes are post-produced and aired later.
For 2026, episodes recorded during the October finals will be post-produced until the end of the year. Online broadcast is scheduled for January 2027. And concrete support for the winners—incubation, acceleration—begins in late February, once confidentiality agreements expire. So, founders who win in October don’t get immediate access to everything. There’s a delay. It’s worth noting if you’re considering applying.
Three criteria to be selected as a finalist. First: alignment with specific values—individual freedom, privacy, decentralization, resilience. Second: execution capability, sustainability, market feasibility. Third: integration into the broader Plan ₿ ecosystem. Essentially, purely speculative projects or those disconnected from the Bitcoin philosophy have little chance of passing. The filter is as ideological as it is business-oriented.
No details in the source on the names of the honey badgers for 2026. Probably announced later, perhaps around the application closing at the end of September.
The documentary format deserves some attention. Filming live negotiations is an editorial gamble. It creates transparency—viewers see how judges react, how founders handle pressure, which questions trip up a pitch. For the 800,000 people who watched online during the first season, it’s content that goes beyond a simple crypto event. It’s almost financial entertainment, in the vein of what Shark Tank-type shows have popularized outside of crypto for years.
Lugano, for its part, continues to build its Bitcoin identity. The city hosts the Plan ₿ Forum, houses PoW Space, supports Cypher Tank. It’s a long-term positioning strategy—becoming the European reference for Bitcoin innovation, attracting founders, investors, developers. Not just an annual event. An infrastructure.
Applications are open until September 25 via the official application portal.
Hub: Bitcoin: Price, News, and Analysis
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the selection criteria for Cypher Tank 2026?
Projects are evaluated on three axes: alignment with values of individual freedom, privacy, and decentralization; execution capability and market feasibility; and integration into the Plan ₿ ecosystem. Applications close on September 25, 2026.
How many prizes are awarded and for what amounts?
Three prizes of $100,000 each are awarded, covering incubation, acceleration, and relocation. Finalists can also receive direct investment from the “honey badgers” judges during live negotiations.
When will the Cypher Tank 2026 episodes be aired?
The finals take place from October 25 to 27 in Lugano. The recorded episodes will be post-produced until the end of 2026 and broadcast online in January 2027.
Who were the judges during the first season of Cypher Tank?
The 2025 season notably included Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, and Adam Back from Blockstream among the honey badgers. The names of the judges for 2026 have not yet been announced in the available information.
Why It Matters
The return of the Cypher Tank competition highlights the growing interest and investment in innovative Bitcoin projects, reflecting the increasing significance of blockchain technology in the global economy. By providing a platform for entrepreneurs to showcase their ideas, the event fosters not only innovation but also community engagement within the crypto space. This initiative may also signal Lugano's ambition to position itself as a key hub for cryptocurrency development, which could attract further investment and talent to the region.
