Trading Rules

You are required to trade from your registered IP region.

If you plan to trade from a different country or IP region (for example, while traveling), you must inform the company in advance in order to avoid any penalties.

Using different internet service providers (ISPs) within your registered region is allowed. You may also use different devices, as long as you remain within your approved IP region.

Your daily drawdown limit is always calculated based on your account balance at the start of the trading day (reset time: 23:00 GMT+2).

Example:
If your account balance at 23:00 GMT+2 is $10,000, your drawdown limit for the following day is $500 (5%).
Therefore, your equity must not fall below $9,500 at any time during that day.

If the next day starts with a balance of $12,350, your drawdown limit for that day will be 5% of $12,350, which equals $617.50.
If at any point during that day your equity falls below $11,732.50 ($12,350 − $617.50), it will be considered a daily drawdown breach.

This rule ensures that the limit adjusts according to the starting balance of each trading day, regardless of floating profits or losses during the session.

Staying within your daily drawdown is essential to avoid breaching the challenge rules or facing disqualification.

Total drawdown refers to the maximum overall loss allowed on your account throughout the entire challenge.

Total drawdown is calculated based on your initial starting balance.

Example:
If your starting account balance is $10,000, and the total drawdown limit is 10%, the maximum loss allowed for the entire challenge is: $10,000 x 10% = $1,000.

This means that your account equity (including any floating losses from open trades) must never fall below $9,000 at any point during the challenge.

If your equity drops to $8,999 or lower, even temporarily, you will have violated the total drawdown rule, resulting in disqualification.

Unlike the daily drawdown, which resets each day, the total drawdown limit remains fixed throughout the entire challenge period and is always calculated from your original account balance.

Traders are required to trade on a minimum of 4 different days. Only the Instant Challenge program requires a minimum of 5 trading days.

It does not matter whether the days are consecutive or non-consecutive.

This rule applies to all account types and all trading phases, including both the Evaluation Phase and the Virtual Approved Phase.

Note: Opening a trade on Monday and closing it on Thursday counts as only 1 trading day, the day the trade was opened.

This ensures that traders meet the minimum trading days requirement accurately, regardless of how long trades are held.

No, there are no limits on the lot sizes you can use during the evaluation period. You can trade with any lot size that suits your strategy.

Yes, there are lot size limits. They depend on the type of challenge you choose.

The lot size limits are as follows:

Two Steps Challenge:
$5K = Max 1.25 lots
$10K = Max 2.5 lots
$25K = Max 5 lots
$50K = Max 10 lots
$100K = Max 20 lots
$200K = Max 40 lots

One Step Challenge:
$5K = Max 0.625 lots
$10K = Max 1.25 lots
$25K = Max 2.5 lots
$50K = Max 5 lots
$100K = Max 10 lots
$200K = Max 20 lots

Instant Challenge:
$5K = Max 0.625 lots
$10K = Max 1.25 lots
$25K = Max 2.5 lots
$50K = Max 5 lots
$100K = Max 10 lots
$200K = Max 20 lots

Three Steps Challenge:
$25K = Max 5 lots
$50K = Max 10 lots
$100K = Max 20 lots
$200K = Max 40 lots

Africa Starter Challenge:
$2.5K = Max 0.625 lots
$5K = Max 1.25 lots
$10K = Max 2.5 lots
$25K = Max 5 lots
$50K = Max 10 lots

This limit applies to open active positions, not as a daily trading limit.

You are not allowed to exceed this lot size across all open trades at any given time, but once a trade is closed, the lot allocation becomes available again. Breaking this limit will constitute a violation of trading rules.

Please note that using minimal lot sizes after a big win solely to meet the minimum 4 trading days requirement is not allowed. Adjusting to a reasonable size is allowed if it is consistent with your usual strategy. Lot sizes must reflect your normal trading behavior.

The minimum required trade duration is 2 minutes. Every trade must remain open for at least this amount of time or more, any trade closed earlier will be considered a violation of the rule.

In the Virtual Approved Phase, any breach of this requirement will result in all simulated profits generated from these trades being removed. This safeguard helps prevent practices such as tick-scalping or other rapid-fire tactics that could exploit the integrity of our simulated price data.

Note: This rule applies to every virtual approved account without exception.

Yes, you are permitted to hold your trades overnight during both the Evaluation Phase and the Virtual Approved Phase.

You are allowed to hold trades over the weekend during the Evaluation Phases. However, once you reach the Virtual Approved Phase, all positions must be closed before the weekend regardless of the asset type.

Holding trades over the weekend in a virtual approved account is not permitted.

Breaking this rule will result in your account being breached.

Please make sure to check the exact market closing time on Friday, based on your platform and time zone, to avoid any violations.

Note: Instant Challenges are considered part of the Virtual Approved Phase, so this rule applies to them as well.

While in the Evaluation Phase:
You're free to trade during any news release, including high-impact ones. There are no restrictions, you can open or close trades as usual.

After You Become a Approved Trader:
Trading around news events becomes more restricted.

You are not allowed to open or close any trades within 5 minutes before and after a high-impact news event (a total of 10 minutes).

This includes opening/closing market orders, activating pending orders, hitting a Stop Loss, Take Profit, or Trailing Stop.

Any modification that triggers a trade (like adjusting a Stop Gain) is also prohibited.

You can still keep trades open if they were entered more than 5 minutes before the news event begins.

If a TP or SL is hit during the restricted window, it will be treated as a Soft Breach, profits won't count toward rewards eligibility, but your account won't be suspended or disqualified.

Any losses during this time are your responsibility, they won't be reimbursed or reversed.

You must avoid trading during high-impact events marked in RED on Myfxbook Economic Calendar or Forex Factory Economic Calendar, including major economic news (e.g., NFP, CPI, interest rate decisions), high-impact speeches (from 5 minutes before until 5 minutes after the speech ends), and high-impact PMIs. If a trade is executed under conditions considered 'unrealistic' (e.g., excessive slippage during high volatility), it may be disqualified, but this won't affect your account status.

No single trade can account for more than 30% of your total simulated profit.

Your total simulated profit is calculated as: Current Balance - Starting Balance

If this rule is violated, that trade will not be eligible to be included in the calculation of your final performance-based reward.

Example:
If your total simulated profit is $1,000, the maximum any single trade can contribute is $300.

If one of your trades generated $320, it exceeds the 30% limit. Therefore, this rule will be considered breached.

This rule applies to every Virtual Approved Accounts except the Instant Challenge accounts.

No single trade can account for more than 20% of your total simulated profit.

Your total simulated profit is calculated as: Current Balance - Starting Balance

If this rule is violated, that trade will not be eligible to be included in the calculation of your final performance-based reward.

Example: If your total simulated profit is $1,000, the maximum any single trade can contribute is $200.

If one of your trades generated $220, it exceeds the 20% limit. Therefore, this rule will be considered breached.

This rule applies only to Instant Challenge accounts.

Setting Stop Loss and Take Profit in your orders is not mandatory; however, we strongly recommend using them to protect your accounts.

**Evaluation Phase:** Copy trading is allowed. Traders may follow signals or mirror trades during this phase.

**Virtual Approved Phase:** Copy trading is strictly prohibited. Any form of account mirroring, trade copying, or signal-following during this phase is not allowed and may result in disqualification or account termination.

**Evaluation Phase:** Using external signals is allowed. Traders may follow signals from others during this phase.

**Virtual Approved Phase:** Using external signals is strictly prohibited. Participating in trading by relying on signals from others is considered a form of group trading, which violates platform rules.

We work with traders who demonstrate independent decision-making, a solid understanding of market dynamics, and strong risk management skills.

If it is discovered that an Approved Trader is using third-party signals or mirroring trades during the Virtual Approved Phase, their account will be permanently closed.

The use of automated trading tools, including high-frequency trading systems, latency-based bots, and Expert Advisors (EAs), is not allowed under any circumstances.

Traders who use these systems risk having their accounts immediately closed.

Third-party EAs can create serious risks for both the trader and our platform.

If we detect that multiple accounts are running the same EA or placing identical trades, it will be considered a breach of our "No Group Trading" rule. This kind of coordinated activity may lead to the suspension of your Evaluation Account or Virtual Approved Account.

a) Hedging is strictly prohibited on Virtual Approved Accounts. It involves opening trades in opposite directions (buy and sell) on the same instrument within the same trading account.

Example:
- Holding both a long and a short position simultaneously on the same asset is not allowed.
- Hedging purely to exploit price differences or for spread arbitrage purposes is also forbidden.
- Additionally, engaging in hedging activity between two different FundingOptimal accounts is not permitted.

If hedging is detected, the account will be considered breached and will be immediately terminated.

b) Stacking refers to opening multiple positions in the same direction (for example, multiple long trades) on the same instrument. While this is allowed, each entry must be spaced out over time.

Opening multiple trades at the exact same time or within a short timeframe (such as a few minutes; 6-7 min) is not permitted.

Violation of this rule will be considered a soft breach, and all simulated profits generated from stacking practices will be removed. The account will not be breached, but further restrictions may be applied depending on the case.

To ensure fairness, integrity, and a realistic trading environment, the following trading strategies and behaviors are strictly prohibited. Violating any of these rules may result in: Immediate termination of your account or cancellation of all simulated profits generated from disallowed trades or disqualification from reaching Approved Trader status.

1. Exploiting Unrealistic Market Conditions
Arbitrage: Taking advantage of price differences across brokers, platforms, or data feeds.
Latency Exploits: Using delays in price updates or execution to gain an unfair advantage.
Front-Running Feeds: Executing trades based on price changes before they are reflected for other participants.
Mispricing Abuse: Trading on obvious price errors or spikes that would not occur in a live, regulated market.

2. Manipulating the Order Book
Order Spamming: Submitting multiple small-sized orders (e.g., ten 0.1-lot trades instead of one 1-lot trade) to falsely influence market depth, create artificial demand/supply, or manipulate price movements.

3. High-Frequency Trading (HFT)
Engaging in rapid, repetitive trading to exploit small price movements or system inefficiencies is not allowed. Our platform is not designed for HFT, and such strategies are not permitted.

4. Reverse Trades / Coordinated Hedging
Placing opposing trades on multiple accounts or coordinating with others to reduce risk or manipulate trading outcomes is strictly forbidden. Trade coordination is not allowed. Each trader must follow an independent strategy. Syncing, mirroring, or planning trades with others in any form will result in disqualification.

5. No Third-Party Trading
Only the registered account holder may place trades. The use of Expert Advisors (EAs), signal services, trade copiers, bots, or any form of third-party trade execution is strictly prohibited. All trades must be executed manually by the individual named on the account.

6. Martingale and Similar Risk-Scaling Strategies
The use of Martingale, grid trading, or any approach that involves progressively increasing lot sizes to recover from losses is strictly banned. These strategies are considered unrealistic, overly risky, and inappropriate for professional trading environments.

7. Hedging
is not permitted. This includes opening trades in opposite directions (i.e., buy and sell) on the same instrument within the same trading account. Example: You cannot hold a long and a short position simultaneously on EURUSD. Hedging purely to exploit price discrepancies or for spread arbitrage purposes is strictly forbidden. Cross-account hedging—i.e., opening opposite positions across two different FundingOptimal accounts—is also not allowed and will lead to account termination.

8. Stacking
You may open multiple positions in the same direction on the same asset, but each entry must be spaced out over time. Opening multiple trades on the same asset at the exact same time or within a very short interval (e.g., within a few minutes; 6-7 min) is considered stacking abuse and is not allowed.

9. Gambling behaviors include: Revenge trading, Random or emotional entries, "All-in" trades, Opening and closing too many trades within minutes, Trading correlated pairs in opposite directions (e.g., buy EUR/USD, sell GBP/USD), Overtrading etc..

To Stay Compliant:
Always trade fairly, responsibly, and transparently.
Avoid all forms of manipulation, exploitation, or unrealistic strategies.
Treat your evaluation or virtual approved account as if you were trading live trading balance in a regulated, professional environment.
By using our services, you agree to abide by these rules and accept any consequences that result from violations.

You can request a performance-based reward every 14 working days, starting from your first trade on your Virtual Approved account. Check your start date in Account Metrics.

To qualify, you must meet the following requirements:
- Minimum of 4 active trading days.
- Minimum of $20 in total simulated profit.
- Lot sizes must reflect your normal trading behavior.
Using very small positions (e.g., 0.1 or 0.2 lots) solely to meet the 4-day requirement is not acceptable.
Adjusting to a reasonable size (e.g., 4 lots) is allowed if it is consistent with your usual strategy.
- No single trade may account for more than 30% of your total simulated profit
- No prohibited strategies or disallowed practices may be used.
Meeting these requirements ensures that your reward request is eligible for approval.
These requirements apply to every Virtual Approved Accounts except the Instant Challenge accounts.

You can request a performance-based reward every 14 working days, starting from your first trade on your Virtual Approved account. Check your start date in Account Metrics.

To qualify, you must meet the following requirements:
- Minimum of 5 active trading days
- Minimum of $20 in total simulated profit
- Lot sizes must reflect your normal trading behavior
Using very small positions (e.g., 0.1 or 0.2 lots) solely to meet the 5-day requirement is not acceptable
Adjusting to a reasonable size (e.g., 4 lots) is allowed if consistent with your usual strategy
- No prohibited strategies or disallowed practices
- No single trade may account for more than 20% of your total simulated profit
- Maintain a minimum 2:1 ratio of profitable trading days to losing trading days
Following these rules ensures your reward request is eligible for approval.
These requirements apply only to Instant Challenge accounts.