Know The 125 CFD Prop Firm Rules That Can Instantly deny your payout

What it means A phase target of 8% on a $100,000 account means $8,000 of realised profit, verified with all positions closed. Across the industry phase-1 targets typically sit between 8% and 10%, phase-2 between 4% and 6% — always read your own plan.

Example You're up $8,400 on open gold positions and request advancement. The firm sees $0 realised. Your request sits in review while the market moves against you — and the target evaporates.

Denial trigger Requesting a pass or payout with the target met only on floating P&L, or after a rule breach inside the same cycle.

What it means FTMO sets this at 5% of the initial balance for the 2-Step Challenge and 3% for the 1-Step, and the calculation includes commissions and swaps. FTMO recalculates the MDL value every day at midnight CE(S)T based on the account balance, giving a fresh allowance each trading day.

Example $100,000 account, 5% MDL = $5,000. You close −$3,000, then open a position that floats −$2,100. Your combined result is −$5,100 — breach, even though you never closed the second trade.

Denial trigger Counting only closed losses. Open positions count toward the daily limit at essentially every firm.

Source: FTMO — Trading and Drawdowns

What it means FTMO's Maximum Loss is 10% of the initial balance for both the 1-Step and 2-Step. On the 1-Step it works on an End-of-Day trailing basis — the floor rises with your highest end-of-day balance and never falls. Both MDL and ML include commissions and swaps.

Example $100,000 1-Step: floor starts at $90,000. End day 1 at $104,000 → floor rises to $94,000. End a later day at $103,000 → floor stays at $94,000 (it only uses the highest preceding end-of-day balance).

Denial trigger Treating a trailing floor as static. On trailing plans, spending profits re-tightens your risk by exactly the amount you banked.

Source: FTMO — Trading and Drawdowns

What it means Commonly 3 days per phase, sometimes 1, sometimes none. Some firms also require a minimum profit per day (e.g. a plan that requires 0.5% profit on equity per day to count that day).

Example You pass phase 1 in two giant sessions. The dashboard says "target met" but the advance button stays locked until a third qualifying day is logged.

Denial trigger Requesting a payout before the minimum qualifying days are recorded — the request is refused as ineligible, not processed.

What it means If a time limit exists it usually applies per phase, not to the whole evaluation. Some firms pause the clock during specific periods; most do not.

Example A 30-day phase, 10 days of which you spend waiting out news restrictions, leaves you 20 real days — and a rushed final week that breaches drawdown.

Denial trigger Assuming the clock resets after a breach, a pause, or a platform outage. It usually does not.

What it means Equity-based limits count floating losses, so an open losing trade can breach you in real time. Balance-based limits ignore the float until it is realised.

Example Same $5,000 loss. On a balance-based rule you survive while the position is open. On an equity-based rule you're terminated the instant equity touches the line.

Denial trigger Reading "maximum drawdown" and assuming it's balance-based. Most firms calculate on equity.

What it means FundedNext's settlement window runs 00:00–02:00 server time. FTMO recalculates its daily loss at midnight CE(S)T. A trade you place "Monday morning" may be stamped Sunday on the server.

Example You close a big winner at 23:50 local — but on server time it's already 00:10, so it books into the next day and skews that day's consistency calculation.

Denial trigger Reasoning about daily windows in local time. Convert to server time before you size or close.

What it means Rules differ by plan inside the same firm. Alpha Capital allows weekend holds on Alpha One and Alpha Swing at every stage, but not on the Alpha Pro Qualified Account stage. Many firms auto-liquidate at Friday close on certain plans.

Example Your swing strategy carries a position over the weekend on a plan that forbids it — the firm closes it at the cut-off, and the gap move you were positioned for never reaches your account.

Denial trigger Assuming "allowed during evaluation" means "allowed when funded." Several firms flip the rule at the funded stage.

Source: Alpha Capital — Trading Rules

What it means It converts every grey area into a discretionary decision. "Abuse of the system" language at firms like FundedNext is exactly this: styles that don't reflect real market trading, or risk-free profit on challenge accounts only.

Example You find a low-risk pattern that only works on the demo feed. It's not on any prohibited list — but it's flagged as exploitation and the account is terminated without warning.

Denial trigger Any edge that wouldn't survive in a live market. If your profit depends on the simulation, the catch-all is aimed at you.

Source: FundedNext — Restricted/Prohibited Strategies

What it means Alpha Capital states a maximum allocation across all four of its plans combined of $400,000, with a performance split up to 80%.

Example You hold $300k of funded accounts and buy another $200k challenge. The extra capacity above the cap simply doesn't count — and can complicate payouts.

Denial trigger Buying accounts past the cap and expecting all of them to pay out at full size.

Source: Alpha Capital — Trading Rules

What it means Blueberry Funded publishes 1:30 FX, 1:10 index/metals, 1:2 crypto. Alpha Capital's Pro plans run 1:100 FX, 1:30 metals, 1:20 indices, 1:10 oil, while Alpha One runs a tighter 1:30 FX.

Example You size a gold position using your FX leverage assumption. Margin usage quadruples and a normal pullback trips your daily loss.

Denial trigger Sizing positions on the headline leverage number instead of the instrument's own margin requirement.

Source: Blueberry Funded · Alpha Capital

What it means A trade that looks flat on price can still be a loser after commission and overnight swap — and that negative is what the drawdown engine reads.

Example You hold a hedged position flat over three nights. Swaps accrue −$180. Your "risk-free" hold quietly eats your daily-loss buffer.

Denial trigger Planning risk on price alone. Costs are inside the limit.

Source: FTMO — Trading and Drawdowns

What it means On a $100,000 account with 10% static drawdown, your floor is $90,000 for the whole evaluation. Profit does not tighten it.

Example You grow to $120,000 and give back $25,000. You're still above the static floor — no breach, even though you surrendered most of your gains.

Denial trigger None from the floor itself — but static plans usually pair with a tighter daily loss, which is the rule that actually kills them.

What it means A 6% trailing floor on a $100,000 account starts at $94,000. At a $102,000 high, the floor is $96,000. Your buffer is always 6% — from the peak, not the start.

Example You peak at $108,000, then take a normal $7,000 pullback. The floor has trailed to $102,000 — you're breached despite being $1,000 in profit overall.

Denial trigger Assuming a profitable account can't breach. On trailing plans, giving back the last leg is exactly how funded accounts die.

What it means FTMO's 1-Step Maximum Loss works this way, and its futures Maximum Drawdown is explicitly end-of-day trailing. The limit is the highest close of any preceding day minus the drawdown amount, and it can only increase.

Example You spike to $110,000 intraday but close at $103,000. The EOD floor uses $103,000 — the intraday high is ignored.

Denial trigger Confusing EOD trailing with intraday trailing. The same peak produces a very different floor.

Source: FTMO · FTMO Futures Objectives

What it means The most aggressive variant. An open trade that runs into profit drags the floor up behind it; when it reverses, the higher floor is still there.

Example An open EUR/USD position floats +$4,000, lifting the floor. It reverses to −$3,000. You're now closer to the floor than when you started, without ever closing a winner.

Denial trigger Letting open winners run on a trailing account without tracking the floor they're pulling up.

What it means Alpha One's 6% floor starts at $94,000 on a $100,000 account and trails up by the same $6,000. Once you reach +6% ($106,000), the floor locks at the initial $100,000 and never moves again.

Example After locking, you can give back all profit down to $100,000 without breaching — the tail risk is fixed at your starting line.

Denial trigger Assuming the floor keeps climbing after the lock point and over-tightening your own risk unnecessarily.

Source: Alpha Capital — Trading Rules

What it means FTMO spells out the difference: absolute drawdown is initial deposit minus lowest value; maximum drawdown is the distance from peak to subsequent trough; relative is that distance as a percentage of peak equity. Its own rules (MDL and ML) don't use any of these labels directly.

Example Start $100k, peak $150k, trough $60k → absolute $40k, maximum $90k, relative 60%. Three very different numbers from one equity curve.

Denial trigger Calculating your own room using the wrong definition of "drawdown" for your plan.

Source: FTMO — Trading and Drawdowns

What it means FTMO's daily loss is set as a percentage of the initial account balance — 5% on the 2-Step, 3% on the 1-Step — and recalculated each day at midnight CE(S)T.

Example After growing to $130,000, your daily allowance is still $5,000, not $6,500. The rule doesn't scale with your success.

Denial trigger Assuming your daily limit grows as your balance grows.

Source: FTMO

What it means Blueberry Funded calculates daily drawdown on the higher of the previous day's equity or balance, on a static drawdown structure.

Example Yesterday you closed at $104,000 but ended with open positions marking equity at $106,000. The allowance is measured from $106,000 — a different floor than you'd get from balance alone.

Denial trigger Tracking only your closed balance when the rule reads the higher of balance or equity.

Source: Blueberry Funded

What it means FTMO resets at midnight CE(S)T. FTMO Futures defines its trading day as 6:00 p.m. ET to 4:10 p.m. ET the following day.

Example You take a loss at 23:55 and another at 00:05. On server time these are two separate days — and each one needs to stay inside its own allowance.

Denial trigger Blowing through the allowance at the end of one day and again just after the reset, thinking of it as one event.

Source: FTMO · FTMO Futures

What it means A stop-loss is an instruction, not a guarantee. On a gap the fill can be far past your stop, and your drawdown breach is measured at the fill.

Example You hold a position $1,500 from your daily limit over a weekend. Sunday's gap opens $4,000 against you. You're breached before your stop can work.

Denial trigger Carrying positions near a limit through weekends, rollovers or scheduled events with no buffer for slippage.

What it means Alpha Capital allows weekend holds during Alpha Pro's evaluation phases but not on the Qualified Account. Blueberry Funded lists a max risk per trade of 1.5% on the funded stage of its 1-Step, with 2% only via add-on.

Example Your strategy holds over weekends. It passes the evaluation — then the funded account forbids the exact behaviour that got you there.

Denial trigger Reading only the challenge rules. Always read the funded/qualified-account ruleset separately.

Source: Alpha Capital · Blueberry Funded

What it means FTMO Futures notes the Maximum Drawdown limit resets only if you pay a Reset Fee or wait for the next monthly subscription. FundedNext's restricted-strategies policy notes that a breach can void the Performance Reward and the refund.

Example You breach on day 20 of a monthly subscription. Rather than pay a reset fee, you wait 10 days — but the rules may have changed in between.

Denial trigger Expecting a refund after a breach caused by a prohibited strategy. Breach by rule violation usually forfeits both reward and refund.

Source: FTMO Futures · FundedNext

What it means Alpha Capital's on-demand payout requires no single trading day to represent 40% or more of total generated profit in the active window. The test is: best-day net profit ÷ total net profit in window. At 0.40 or above, you're not yet eligible.

Example You make $6,000 total, of which $2,600 came on one day. That's 43% — request refused. Keep trading and push total profit past $6,500 and the same $2,600 best day drops below 40%, unlocking the payout.

Denial trigger One monster session. The rule rewards spreading profit across days, which is the opposite of how most traders actually make money.

Source: Alpha Capital — Payout Delays

What it means FundedNext's gambling-behaviour policy offers a choice: an on-demand reward arrangement subject to a 40% consistency rule, or an adjusted profit split with full flexibility. Once chosen, it applies across all active accounts.

Example Flagged for inconsistent risk, you pick the flexible split — then discover the revised split quietly lowers your share on every future payout.

Denial trigger Treating a flag as administrative. It changes your economics, not just your paperwork.

Source: FundedNext — Restricted Strategies

What it means Concentrated, non-repeatable profit is the signature of luck or exploitation. Reviewers look for the pattern, not just the number.

Example 100% of your profit comes from XAU/USD during the first 15 minutes of the New York session. Nothing is technically banned — but the account gets flagged.

Denial trigger A result that depends on a single narrow condition a reviewer can point at.

What it means Blueberry Funded's 1-Step requires 0.5% profit on equity to be achieved per day for the day to count, across 3 days per phase.

Example You trade 6 days but two of them finish flat-to-down. Only 4 days qualify — and the phase still needs a qualifying day count, not just calendar days.

Denial trigger Counting calendar trading days instead of qualifying days.

Source: Blueberry Funded

What it means Alpha Capital notes that on on-demand accounts a partial withdrawal can reset consistency display behaviour, and a new trade opens a new payout consistency window.

Example You withdraw half, keep trading, and the retained balance now has to satisfy consistency all over again before it can be paid out.

Denial trigger Assuming an approved payout "clears" the balance. The remaining amount can re-enter eligibility from scratch.

Source: Alpha Capital

What it means FundedNext frames this as gambling behaviour under its Risk parameter, and it can be triggered even with a profitable account if the pattern looks non-repeatable.

Example You pass two accounts and breach three others in a month with outsized positions. The wins are real — but the pattern reads as gambling, not skill.

Denial trigger Size and frequency, not just outcomes. Reviewers read the shape of your risk curve.

Source: FundedNext

What it means Growth is conditional and the conditions are cumulative. One unprofitable month can restart the sequence.

Example Three profitable months required for a scale-up; month two finishes −0.4%. The counter resets to zero.

Denial trigger Assuming a scale-up is automatic once you hit a profit figure. It's a compliance record, not a balance threshold.

What it means FundedNext states that once a trader selects a gambling-behaviour arrangement, it applies across all active accounts. Multi-account behaviour is reviewed as a portfolio.

Example Each account looks clean alone, but together they show offsetting positions on the same instrument — group hedging.

Denial trigger Evaluating each account in isolation when the firm evaluates the set.

Source: FundedNext

What it means FundedNext restricts HFT because it can distort prices, create artificial volume, and strain servers. Warnings for hyperactivity and HFT are cumulative — and a later offence escalates the penalty, potentially to suspension.

Example A high-speed EA fires thousands of orders a minute. It's profitable, but the account is suspended for server strain before any payout is processed.

Denial trigger Any EA whose trade rate looks machine-like. The ban is about volume and speed, not profitability.

Source: FundedNext

What it means FundedNext imposes limitations on tick scalping; depending on severity it can mean immediate account termination or permanent platform termination, with the Performance Reward or refund denied or adjusted.

Example An algorithm scalps a few pips hundreds of times per session. The volume profile is flagged, and the account is terminated with profit forfeited.

Denial trigger Trade-count and holding-time signatures. It doesn't matter that each individual trade was small and legal-looking.

Source: FundedNext

What it means FundedNext defines Quick Strike trades as closed within 30 seconds. On challenge accounts a warning is issued at 20%; at 30% or above, advancement is placed on hold until the threshold clears. On funded accounts a warning at 20%, and if 30% is breached the account is terminated at the end of the trading cycle with all Quick Strike profit forfeited in full.

Example You're profitable overall, but 34% of that profit came from 12-second scalps. At cycle end the account is terminated and those profits vanish.

Denial trigger Your fastest trades being your biggest contributors. The clock starts at the moment of entry.

Source: FundedNext

What it means FundedNext states latency trading is strictly prohibited because it undermines fair and transparent trading. It is detected by the pattern of profits around feed delays, not by a single trade.

Example A script watches a stale price feed and fires orders whenever the displayed price lags the real market. The profit looks consistent — and that consistency is the tell.

Denial trigger Profit with no plausible market risk. "Too consistent" is itself evidence.

Source: FundedNext

What it means FundedNext prohibits arbitrage because it distorts pricing and can trigger rapid artificial price movements. The ban covers "any form," which includes pairs-based statistical arbitrage that many traders don't think of as arbitrage.

Example You trade correlated instruments against each other based on historical price patterns, expecting a risk-neutral spread. It's flagged as arbitrage and the account is terminated.

Denial trigger Strategies whose profit doesn't depend on direction. Market-neutral edges read as arbitrage.

Source: FundedNext

What it means FundedNext bans grid trading as artificial activity and excessive correlated risk. Consequences can be immediate or permanent termination, with reward or refund denied or adjusted.

Example Buy orders at $100/$105/$110 and sells at $115/$120/$125. Price collapses below $100 — every buy loses simultaneously, blowing the account in one move.

Denial trigger A grid EA running on the account, whether or not it was profitable.

Source: FundedNext

What it means Blueberry Funded lists martingale as allowed on its plans. Other firms treat it as gambling behaviour under a subjective risk clause — so the same EA is legal at one firm and terminable at another.

Example A martingale EA passes at a permissive firm, then gets flagged as "inconsistent risk management" when you move the same system to a stricter one.

Denial trigger Reading "allowed" at one firm as "allowed" everywhere. This is the single most firm-dependent rule in the industry.

Source: Blueberry Funded · FundedNext

What it means FundedNext groups these under gambling behaviour: losses consistently outweighing average gains, breaching several accounts in a short span, repeated over-leveraging, or staking large capital repeatedly over a brief period.

Example You size at 10% risk per trade to hit the target fast. Even if you pass, the risk profile triggers a payout-structure penalty or a review.

Denial trigger Position sizing that only makes sense if you're trying to pass quickly rather than trade sustainably.

Source: FundedNext

What it means FundedNext's gambling-behaviour language names "taking high-risk trades without a stop-loss" directly. Other firms enforce it through maximum-risk-per-trade caps instead.

Example You hold a 5-lot EUR/USD position with no stop and a mental exit. A 40-pip gap liquidates you past both the daily and overall limits.

Denial trigger Positions with no defined invalidation, especially near a limit.

Source: FundedNext

What it means Some firms ban opening within a window, some require trades opened in the window to stay open beyond a minimum duration, some allow news entirely subject to a policy. Alpha Capital's Alpha Swing uses a duration rule: a trade opened within 2 minutes before or after a high-impact release (a 4-minute window) must stay open longer than 2 minutes to be valid.

Example You open 90 seconds before NFP and close 30 seconds after — total hold under 2 minutes. The trade is invalid under the duration rule, and the profit is voided.

Denial trigger Not knowing which type of news rule your plan uses: a blackout, a duration rule, or a policy review.

Source: Alpha Capital

What it means FundedNext defines its settlement window as 00:00 to 02:00 server time. When a significant portion of profit is generated exclusively in these brief low-liquidity periods, it indicates reliance on the window rather than skill — and the firm reserves the right to review the account, void relevant trades, or terminate it.

Example Your strategy is profitable only because it trades the thin 01:00 book. The P&L is real, but it's flagged as settlement-window exploitation.

Denial trigger Concentrated profit inside a firm's published settlement window, even if you never broke a numeric rule.

Source: FundedNext

What it means FundedNext treats account rolling as gambling rather than a legitimate evaluation, and actively monitors for it. It bypasses the intent of the assessment, which is to test risk management, not volume of attempts.

Example You buy five challenges, run max risk on each, and rely on one surviving. The survivor's payout is denied because the pattern is rolling.

Denial trigger The number and timing of your account purchases, reviewed as a pattern.

Source: FundedNext

What it means Bonus and competition structures create an incentive to trade volume rather than profit, and firms police it as artificial activity.

Example A competition rewards lot volume, so you open and close thousands of near-flat trades. You place, but the bonus is voided for artificial activity.

Denial trigger Volume that doesn't correspond to a real directional or spread edge.

What it means Falls under system abuse and HFT-adjacent clauses. Even where it isn't named, it breaches "abuse of the system" terms and can result in termination without warning.

Example An EA submits and cancels hundreds of pending orders per minute to trigger a fill. Detected as system abuse.

Denial trigger Order-to-fill ratios that look machine-generated.

What it means FundedNext states that strategies producing risk-free, consistent profits exclusively on challenge accounts are forbidden, and that traders are expected to trade as if on a real funded account.

Example You exploit a 200ms quote lag that only exists on the demo server. It's not on a prohibited list, but it's "exploitation of the platform" and the account is terminated.

Denial trigger Any edge you know wouldn't survive a live broker. That's the definition of abuse here.

Source: FundedNext

What it means Platform maintenance windows are published in advance. If a price anomaly appears during a partial outage, acting on it is treated as exploiting a fault, not trading.

Example During a feed restart, gold quotes print a stale price for 20 seconds. You buy the anomaly — the trade is voided and the account reviewed.

Denial trigger Trading a price you know is a glitch rather than a market.

What it means Corporate actions create predictable cash adjustments. Firms treat strategies built to harvest them, rather than trade direction, as artificial.

Example You hold a long index CFD purely to collect the dividend adjustment, hedging the market exposure elsewhere. The adjustment is reversed and the hedge is flagged.

Denial trigger Profit tied to a scheduled cash adjustment with the market risk neutralised.

What it means Wide spreads and shallow books let a large order print its own fill. That profit is a function of the simulation, not skill, and falls under market-manipulation clauses.

Example You buy a thinly traded exotic with a 30-pip spread, move the quote with your own size, and close into the widened book.

Denial trigger Profit concentrated in instruments whose spread is wider than your average win.

What it means FundedNext allows copy trading between FundedNext Challenge Accounts under specific guidelines, but prohibits copying between accounts where one is a FundedNext Account — even if both belong to the same individual, whether manual or automated.

Example You copy trades from your funded account into a fresh challenge account to keep them in sync. That's the prohibited direction — the funded account is involved.

Denial trigger One leg of the copy being a funded/real-reward account.

Source: FundedNext — Copy Trading Rule

What it means FundedNext states that where copy trading is detected between accounts owned by different individuals, or where account-management services or "Pass Your Challenge" schemes are involved, the account is terminated immediately and the Performance Reward or refund may be adjusted or denied based on severity.

Example Your brother follows your signals on his own account. Both accounts show near-identical entries and exits. Both are terminated.

Denial trigger Identical trades across accounts with different owners — regardless of intent or relationship.

Source: FundedNext

What it means FundedNext lists use of third-party copy-trading software (cloud-based copiers) and signal services as prohibited practices, and states that "Copy Trading Services" and "Signal Services" can result in denial of accounts and a permanent ban.

Example You subscribe to a Telegram signal group and mirror the calls. The identical fills across many accounts are detected as a network.

Denial trigger A copier or signal provider in the execution path, even if you "only take some" of the calls.

Source: FundedNext

What it means FundedNext names "Pass Your Challenge" schemes and account-management services as strictly prohibited, resulting in denial of accounts and a permanent ban. It is a KYC and identity issue as much as a trading one.

Example You buy a challenge and hand the login to a "guaranteed pass" service. The IP, device and trading style change mid-evaluation — and the payout is refused at KYC.

Denial trigger A change of trader identity mid-account, detected via device, location and style shifts.

Source: FundedNext

What it means FundedNext uses both automated systems and manual reviews. Identical trades, synchronized patterns and group trading are the three named detection vectors.

Example Two accounts enter the same symbol within the same second at the same lot size. The match is flagged even if one is slightly smaller.

Denial trigger Statistical similarity across accounts — you don't need to be caught copying in the act.

Source: FundedNext

What it means Synchronization is treated as evidence of coordination, whether it comes from a copier, a shared signal, or two people trading the same system together.

Example Two traders in the same Discord open the same setup at the same minute every day. The correlation is flagged as group trading.

Denial trigger Timing correlation, not just identical P&L.

Source: FundedNext

What it means Group trading undermines the individual-skill premise of an evaluation. It's monitored across the whole population of accounts, not just yours.

Example A trading group runs the same EA on 30 accounts. The cluster is detected and every account in it is reviewed.

Denial trigger Being part of a strategy cluster the firm can identify.

Source: FundedNext

What it means FundedNext allows hedging only within the same account. Hedging across multiple accounts is prohibited, and taking the risk of a full or near-daily-loss in one trade is treated as suspected multi-platform hedging.

Example Buy 1 lot EUR/USD on Account A, sell 1 lot EUR/USD on Account B. Both are yours, but this is prohibited — while the same two trades inside Account A would be allowed.

Denial trigger Opposite positions on the same instrument split across accounts.

Source: FundedNext

What it means FundedNext prohibits group hedging across accounts because it reduces market risk by construction and doesn't reflect a legitimate trading methodology.

Example A group opens long on half its accounts and short on the other half, guaranteeing that one side survives. Every account is reviewed.

Denial trigger A coordinated set of offsetting positions across accounts.

Source: FundedNext

What it means FundedNext lists merging FundedNext accounts among prohibited copy-trading practices — because it can be used to mask a breach on one account with profit from another.

Example You blow one account's daily limit, then try to offset it by transferring a position's profit from a second account.

Denial trigger Any attempt to net results across account boundaries.

Source: FundedNext

What it means FundedNext states each trader must register a unique withdrawal wallet address; an address already used by another trader cannot be used regardless of the relationship. A first instance gives a formal warning and requires a wallet update; a subsequent instance results in termination or suspension with the Performance Reward or refund denied or adjusted.

Example You and a friend share one USDT address for payouts to save on fees. Your first payout triggers a warning; the second terminates the account.

Denial trigger Any wallet address linked to more than one trader — including a family member's.

Source: FundedNext — Withdrawals

What it means Identity and location data are used to detect account-management and multi-identity abuse. Sharing a laptop or a home network can link accounts even when the trading is genuinely independent.

Example Two flatmates each buy a challenge and trade from the same Wi-Fi. Both are flagged for linked-account review at payout time.

Denial trigger Shared infrastructure combined with similar trading — the firm can't distinguish coincidence from coordination.

What it means Location is part of identity verification. A sudden country change mid-account, especially combined with a payout request, triggers review.

Example You trade from Canada but connect through a US VPN node; your KYC says Canada and your payout bank is Canadian. The mismatch holds the withdrawal.

Denial trigger Login geography that doesn't match the identity on file — whether or not you had anything to hide.

What it means Account limits exist to prevent rolling and group behaviour, and identity checks are run against payout details, devices and payment methods.

Example You register accounts under two email addresses but the same ID document and bank account. The link is found at KYC and the payouts are consolidated or denied.

Denial trigger Overlapping identity, payment or device data across accounts.

What it means Alpha Capital runs a bi-weekly method (a ~14-day cadence with trading-day and profit thresholds) and an on-demand method (minimum gross profit plus a 40% best-day consistency rule). Alpha Capital states the two are distinct and not available at the same time on one account.

Example You assume on-demand conditions on a bi-weekly account and request early. The request is refused as ineligible — not because you did anything wrong, but because you applied the wrong rulebook.

Denial trigger Confusing which payout method your account is configured for.

Source: Alpha Capital — Payout Delays

What it means Blueberry Funded advertises 80–85% depending on plan; Alpha Capital states a split up to 80%. The headline split is often the best case, with lower tiers for certain plans or payout methods.

Example You budget around 85% but your plan pays 80% and the on-demand method carries a different tier. The gap is real money on a large payout.

Denial trigger Assuming the marketing split applies to your specific plan, method and account stage.

Source: Blueberry Funded · Alpha Capital

What it means Firms set minimum Performance Reward amounts, and thresholds can differ by payment method or region.

Example You finish a cycle up $180 but the minimum request is higher. The balance stays on the account, and the next cycle's consistency rules now apply to the combined figure.

Denial trigger Requesting below the minimum, or assuming the balance is "safe" once earned.

What it means Alpha Capital lists "trades still open" as a top cause of payout delay, and states all trades should be closed when making a request.

Example You submit a request while a swing position is running. The request stalls; by the time you close, the profit has moved and eligibility must be re-checked.

Denial trigger Requesting with floating positions open, especially near a consistency threshold.

Source: Alpha Capital

What it means KYC covers identity, address, payment ownership and sometimes source of funds. Firms like FundedNext require verification steps before withdrawal, and payout methods are tied to the verified identity.

Example You pass the challenge on an account registered to a nickname, then try to withdraw to a bank account in a different name. The payout is held pending verification you can't complete.

Denial trigger Any name, address or payment-detail mismatch — including a joint or third-party account.

What it means FundedNext publishes country restrictions for bank transfer and for card transfer separately. Bank transfer excludes countries including Pakistan, Ukraine, Russia, Iran, Iraq, Venezuela and others; the card-transfer exclusion list is different and also includes South Korea, Malaysia and Belarus.

Example You plan a bank-transfer payout but your country is on the bank list — you must switch to crypto or another method, and a method change can trigger re-verification.

Denial trigger Assuming your preferred rail is available. Check the country table for your exact method before you request.

Source: FundedNext — Withdrawals

What it means FundedNext lists specific networks — USDT on ERC20 and TRC20, USDC on ERC20 — and each trader must use a unique wallet address. A mismatch between the registered network and the receiving wallet is a compliance and operational failure.

Example You register a TRC20 address but the payout is sent on ERC20, or you paste an address from a different chain. Recovery is usually impossible.

Denial trigger Registering an address on an unsupported chain, or a wallet you don't exclusively control.

Source: FundedNext

What it means FundedNext states payouts are issued within 24 hours and that traders are responsible for covering transfer gateway charges incurred in the process. Alpha Capital targets processing and payment within 2 business days for valid requests once eligibility is met.

Example A $2,000 payout loses a chunk to gateway fees you didn't budget, because the fee is deducted from your side.

Denial trigger Not a denial — a shortfall. Budget gateway fees against every payout figure.

Source: FundedNext · Alpha Capital

What it means Alpha Capital notes that on the bi-weekly path the first request needs minimum trading days. Blueberry Funded requires signing a trader contract and completing KYC before you can begin trading toward a performance fee.

Example You hit the profit threshold on day 2 of your funded account and request a payout. The first-payout trading-day requirement blocks it.

Denial trigger Treating payout eligibility as a single profit number. It's a checklist, and the first one is the longest.

Source: Alpha Capital · Blueberry Funded

What it means Alpha Capital lists "rule-breach adjustments inside the payout window" as a top delay cause, and notes adjusted balances can change consistency and payout eligibility, requiring a re-check before resubmitting.

Example A single flagged trade from week one is voided at review. Your total profit drops, your best day now exceeds 40%, and the request you submitted is no longer eligible.

Denial trigger Any unresolved rule event in the payout window. Clear the record before you request.

Source: Alpha Capital

What it means Alpha Capital's pre-request checklist requires confirming method, thresholds, closed trades, no unresolved rule event, correct payout details, and submitting through the dashboard's payout path.

Example You email support instead of using the dashboard flow. The request isn't logged as a formal request, and the cycle rolls over.

Denial trigger Bypassing the official request path or leaving a field blank.

Source: Alpha Capital

What it means FundedNext's restricted-strategy policy repeatedly states the Performance Reward or refund may be denied or adjusted, with immediate or permanent termination depending on severity. Signal and pass-your-challenge schemes can result in a permanent ban from all services.

Example A grid EA is detected after a profitable funded month. The payout is denied, the challenge fee isn't refunded, and the account is closed permanently.

Denial trigger A prohibited strategy in the account history — the loss is your profit plus your entry fee.

Source: FundedNext

What it means Payout ownership must match the account holder. Shared wallets, family bank accounts and corporate accounts in another name all fail the ownership test.

Example You ask for the payout to your partner's bank account because it has lower fees. The request is held pending ownership verification.

Denial trigger A payout destination whose legal owner isn't you.

What it means Refunds are usually bundled with the reward on the first payout, and are voided by prohibited-strategy findings or certain breaches.

Example You pass but breach a minor rule during the funded stage. The reward is adjusted and the refund is forfeited under the same clause.

Denial trigger Assuming the fee refund is unconditional once you pass.

What it means The "account reset flow" appears in payout troubleshooting: a request submitted while the account isn't ready for the reset gets stuck.

Example You expect to keep trading the grown balance after payout, but the account resets to initial size and your drawdown floor resets with it.

Denial trigger Planning post-payout risk on a balance that is about to reset.

What it means Payment details are part of your verified identity. A change mid-cycle can pause an in-flight payout while the new details are validated.

Example You change your wallet address the day after requesting a payout. The request is pulled for review and the cycle deadline passes.

Denial trigger Editing payment details while a request is pending.

What it means Blackouts are enforced by timestamps. The banned action may be opening, closing, or both, and the window is measured in server time.

Example You open a position 90 seconds before CPI. Even if it's profitable, the trade is outside the rules and the profit is voided.

Denial trigger Any fill inside the blackout window, regardless of outcome.

What it means Alpha Capital's Alpha Swing uses a duration rule: a trade opened within 2 minutes before or after a high-impact release — a 4-minute window — must stay open longer than 2 minutes to be valid.

Example You enter 60 seconds before the release and exit 40 seconds after: a 100-second hold. Under 2 minutes, so the trade is invalid.

Denial trigger Treating "news trading allowed" as "news scalping allowed." The hold duration is the rule.

Source: Alpha Capital

What it means The rule may target positions open at the release, not positions opened during the window. A position opened hours earlier still counts.

Example You hold a swing trade from the morning through the 2:00 p.m. FOMC statement. The rule bans holding, not opening — so the trade is a breach.

Denial trigger Reading a news rule as an entry restriction when it's an exposure restriction.

What it means Blueberry Funded lists news trading as allowed (subject to policy). That's not permission — it's a review clause.

Example Your whole month's profit comes from NFP spikes. Nothing was blacked out, but the concentration triggers a discretionary review.

Denial trigger Profit concentrated in event windows, even where no hard window exists.

Source: Blueberry Funded

What it means Rollover is usually around the daily server close. Being on the wrong side of it can add swap cost that eats your daily-loss buffer, and triple-swap days multiply it.

Example You close at 23:59 thinking you avoided overnight swap, but server rollover is 23:00 — you've been charged.

Denial trigger Ignoring swap in daily-loss maths, especially around triple-swap days.

What it means Some instruments close entirely on holidays; others close early. Reduced hours concentrate liquidity and widen spreads.

Example You hold a US index position into a holiday early-close. The thin session gaps your stop and breaches the daily limit.

Denial trigger Holding leveraged positions through altered hours with no reduced-size adjustment.

What it means Firms publish maintenance schedules. Trading is often disabled during the window, and access may be fully restricted.

Example A position runs into trouble during a maintenance window when you can't close it. The loss still counts against your limits.

Denial trigger Holding risk you can't manage through a known outage window.

What it means Alpha Capital allows weekend holds on Alpha One and Alpha Swing at every stage including the Qualified Account. Alpha Pro allows them during evaluation phases but not on the Qualified Account. Alpha Three, for existing accounts, allowed them at every stage.

Example Your swing system works on Alpha Pro in evaluation, then breaks on the funded stage because the exact behaviour that qualified you is now banned.

Denial trigger Choosing a plan without reading its funded-stage weekend rule.

Source: Alpha Capital

What it means It's not a penalty, it's an execution. Your position is flattened at the weekend cut-off, and any profit you were positioned for simply doesn't accrue.

Example You're long into a Friday close expecting a weekend catalyst. The platform closes you at the cut-off and the Monday gap is someone else's trade.

Denial trigger Building a strategy that depends on weekend exposure at a firm that liquidates it.

What it means Swap is not a footnote. It is part of the P&L the drawdown engine reads, and it accrues even on positions that look flat.

Example A hedged pair held for two weeks accrues hundreds in net swap, slowly eating your buffer.

Denial trigger Planning risk without accounting for multi-day swap cost.

Source: FTMO

What it means Usually Wednesday for FX, though it varies by instrument. A position held across it pays triple.

Example You hold a large short through the triple-swap day and the accumulated charge pushes your daily result past the limit.

Denial trigger Not checking the swap schedule before holding size overnight.

What it means Leverage that was available in the London session may not be available at 03:00 server time. A position that was comfortably margined can become a margin call.

Example You hold near-max size overnight; the broker raises weekend margin; you're liquidated at the worst price of the day.

Denial trigger Sizing to the edge of margin and then holding through a low-liquidity session.

What it means The floor uses the highest end-of-day balance. A gap against a new position opens below a floor that just rose.

Example You close at a new equity high, the floor trails up, and Monday's gap takes you straight through it before you can react.

Denial trigger Starting the new session at maximum size against a freshly-raised trailing floor.

What it means Trades executed outside the firm's sanctioned environment may not be recognised, and platform migration can change your conditions.

Example You trade a mirror account on a different broker's platform and expect the results to count. They don't.

Denial trigger Trading anywhere other than the assigned platform and server.

What it means Any tool that gives an execution or information advantage not available to a normal trader falls under system abuse — even if it's a legitimate product elsewhere.

Example A "spread monitor" that front-runs feed updates is installed alongside your EA. The account is flagged.

Denial trigger Software in the execution path that isn't the firm's own platform or an approved EA.

What it means Location consistency is part of identity verification. A VPN that hides your location while you request a payout is the worst combination.

Example Your login IP jumps between three countries in a week. The account is flagged for review at the next payout.

Denial trigger IP geography that can't be reconciled with your verified identity.

What it means The account is licensed to one verified individual. Multiple concurrent sessions from different locations is the detection signal.

Example You let a mentor log in to "review your trades" and he adjusts a position. The login pattern links to account management.

Denial trigger Any second party with access, however well-intentioned.

What it means Stop levels are set per instrument and can widen in fast markets. Your strategy's precision entry may simply not be executable.

Example You place a stop 3 pips away on an instrument with a 5-pip stop level. The order is rejected, and you're left naked.

Denial trigger Assuming your broker-side order mechanics match a retail account elsewhere.

What it means A max-lot rule is a hard ceiling that applies even when your risk percentage would allow more. Exceeding it can void trades or trigger review.

Example Your risk model says 4 lots, but the firm caps at 2. You trade 4 anyway and the position is flagged as exceeding limits.

Denial trigger Sizing on risk percentage alone, ignoring the platform's hard lot cap.

What it means Spread, execution price, swap and timestamp differences mean your terminal's profit figure is an approximation of the firm's ledger.

Example Your platform shows +$5,200 but the dashboard shows +$4,950. Consistency and thresholds are computed on the dashboard number.

Denial trigger Planning a payout around your terminal's P&L instead of the firm's dashboard.

What it means FundedNext even publishes educational material on slippage, because it is a standard execution feature, not an error to be reversed.

Example Your 1.0-lot stop fills 18 pips past the level in a news spike, turning a small loss into a daily-limit breach.

Denial trigger Placing stops at the exact edge of your allowance with no slippage buffer.

What it means "Unlimited time" usually still means "active trading." Inactivity can pause eligibility or void a scaling streak.

Example You pause for six weeks after passing. On return, a scaling counter has reset and a promo window has closed.

Denial trigger Assuming no-time-limit equals no-activity-requirement.

What it means A rule that was legal when you entered can be prohibited by month two. Some changes apply only to new accounts; others are applied across the board.

Example You build a strategy around a permitted behaviour, then a ToS update prohibits it — and your next payout is reviewed under the new rules.

Denial trigger Never re-reading the terms after an update email you didn't open.

What it means FundedNext explicitly urges traders to read the Terms of Service agreed at registration, framing prohibited-strategy enforcement as a ToS matter. The marketing page is not the contract.

Example A behaviour absent from the FAQ but present in the ToS is enforced against you, and the enforcement is valid.

Denial trigger Treating the pricing page as the rulebook.

Source: FundedNext

What it means FundedNext states that abuse of the system results in a breach of ToS without any warning, and prohibited practices can bring immediate or permanent termination with the reward or refund denied or adjusted.

Example A single detected exploitation pattern ends a funded account mid-cycle, with no appeal window described.

Denial trigger Any conduct the firm classifies as system abuse — the penalty is designed to be decisive.

Source: FundedNext

What it means FTMO Futures ties resetting the drawdown limit to paying a Reset Fee or waiting for the next monthly subscription. Blueberry Funded offers phase-level and funded-level resets.

Example You reset phase 2 but the reset doesn't clear the underlying pattern that caused the breach — you breach again at the same point.

Denial trigger Treating a reset as a fix rather than a retry.

Source: FTMO Futures · Blueberry Funded

What it means Each tier can carry its own risk parameters. Growing the account can tighten the rules you must trade under.

Example You scale to a larger allocation and discover the new tier's drawdown is proportionally tighter than the tier you built your edge on.

Denial trigger Scaling without re-reading the new tier's rule set.

What it means Alpha Capital states a maximum allocation of $400,000 across all four plans combined, with a performance split up to 80%.

Example You accumulate accounts beyond the cap and expect each to pay at full size. Capacity above the cap is not payable capacity.

Denial trigger Ignoring the portfolio-level cap when buying accounts.

Source: Alpha Capital

What it means FundedNext's gambling-behaviour policy offers an adjusted profit split arrangement as one of two options, and the choice applies across all active accounts.

Example You accept a revised split to keep full flexibility, then realise it applies to every future payout on every account.

Denial trigger Accepting a policy arrangement without modelling its lifetime cost.

Source: FundedNext

What it means A migration can reset local trade history, change symbol names, or alter swap and spread conditions mid-account.

Example Your EA references a symbol that's renamed after migration and stops trading — leaving a strategy half-executed.

Denial trigger Assuming platform continuity after a migration notice.

What it means Verification is a snapshot of who you were when it was approved. Material changes invalidate the snapshot.

Example You move country and update your address mid-cycle. The payout is held for re-verification and misses the cycle.

Denial trigger Changing identity details while a withdrawal is pending.

What it means Bonus capital may not count toward profit targets, may not be withdrawable, and may come with extra trading requirements.

Example You hit a target partly using promotional credit. The bonus portion is stripped from the calculation and the target is unmet.

Denial trigger Counting non-withdrawable credit toward a profit target.

What it means Simulated-capital prop trading is not a regulated brokerage relationship. Payout terms, processing times and even the existence of the payout function are firm-dependent.

Example A firm tightens consistency thresholds, extends processing times, then stops accepting new payout requests. Your profits are contractual, not custodial.

Denial trigger Not a rule breach — a counterparty risk. Diversify firms and withdraw on the earliest eligible cycle rather than accumulating.

What it means Payout review looks backward across the whole cycle. A trade from week one is assessed when you request in week four, under the terms in force at review.

Example You exploit a permitted pattern early, the firm clarifies its policy mid-cycle, and your request is reviewed under the clarification.

Denial trigger Any borderline behaviour in the cycle you're about to have reviewed.

What it means FundedNext states it uses automated systems and manual reviews, and reserves the right to review an account where patterns consistent with exploitation are identified.

Example Your win rate, trade timing and hold durations form a statistical signature the model flags. Nothing is banned; you're simply reviewed.

Denial trigger A statistical profile, not a discrete rule breach.

Source: FundedNext

What it means FundedNext states that where settlement-window exploitation patterns are identified, it reserves the right to review the account, void relevant trades, or terminate it — across all account types and phases.

Example Twelve profitable trades are voided at review. Your cycle profit drops below the payout threshold and your best-day ratio flips over 40%.

Denial trigger Profit concentrated in a monitored window. Voiding is the mechanism, and it cascades into every other rule.

Source: FundedNext

What it means Scaling and inactivity rules can combine: stop trading after a payout and you may lose the streak that unlocks the next tier.

Example You take a payout and step away for a month to celebrate. The scaling counter resets and the next tier is further away than before.

Denial trigger Pausing after a payout on an account with activity or streak requirements.

What it means The evaluation is meant to demonstrate a repeatable approach. A sudden shift to a different risk model on the funded account breaks that premise.

Example You pass with conservative swing trades, then run a high-frequency EA on the funded account. The inconsistency triggers review.

Denial trigger A funded-stage risk profile that doesn't match the one that passed.

What it means Blueberry Funded lists a max risk per trade of 1% on its Flex 1-Step (evaluation and funded), and 1.5% on the funded stage of its 1-Step with 2% available via add-on. Other plans list no per-trade cap.

Example You're within daily loss but one position carries 3% risk. The trade breaches the per-trade cap even though the day is fine.

Denial trigger Sizing to your daily allowance instead of the per-trade cap.

Source: Blueberry Funded

What it means Concentration is a red flag even without a published threshold. A one-instrument result reads as non-repeatable.

Example 100% of profit from one index, all from one session type. Nothing is banned, but the profile triggers review.

Denial trigger Results that depend on a single narrow condition.

What it means The account holder must be the payer and the trader. Third-party funding is a standard anti-money-laundering flag.

Example A friend buys your challenge on their card "as a gift." At payout, the payment-source mismatch holds the withdrawal.

Denial trigger Any payment source that isn't your verified identity.

What it means Duration minimums exist to prevent tick-level exploitation. A trade that's valid on price can be invalid on time.

Example A perfectly good 90-second trade is voided because the plan requires a longer minimum hold in an event window.

Denial trigger Not knowing your plan's minimum hold in restricted windows.

What it means FundedNext allows hedging within the same account but states that taking the risk of a full or near-daily-loss in one trade will be suspected as a multi-platform hedge with FundedNext.

Example You open a buy and sell of the same size in one account, then let one side run to the daily limit. It's flagged as a suspected external hedge.

Denial trigger A same-account hedge sized so one leg approaches the daily limit.

Source: FundedNext

What it means Automatic action is part of the platform contract. You don't get to contest the price or the timing.

Example A weekend auto-close liquidates your position at the worst spread of the session, and the resulting loss counts against your limits.

Denial trigger Holding positions into an auto-close window with no buffer.

What it means FundedNext describes arbitrage and latency trading as "unethical" as part of the justification for banning them. The word functions as a catch-all beyond the enumerated list.

Example A novel edge that isn't on any list is judged unethical in review, and the account is terminated under the general clause.

Denial trigger Nothing enumerable — which is exactly why it's the most dangerous clause in this dossier.

Source: FundedNext