Tradeify Rules (Drawdown, Consistency Rule, 10-Second Rule and Hedging Ban)

Which Tradeify rules fail your account, and which do not?

Tradeify has many rules, but sorting them by how serious a breach is makes them easier to follow. The only numeric rule that fails an account on the spot is reaching the max drawdown (prohibited conduct such as hedging is separate). Most others only stop trading for the day or block payout requests.

The general mechanics of drawdowns and consistency rules are common to futures prop firms. This article focuses on Tradeify numbers and rules.

How does the Tradeify max drawdown work? (EOD Trailing and lock)

The Tradeify max drawdown is EOD Trailing on every plan and account. It follows the highest end-of-day balance (high-water mark) upward and never moves down. It updates once a day, at the close.

Updated at the close, checked in real time

It only moves up at the close, but whether you have reached it is checked in real time. If your account value, including open profit and loss, touches that level even briefly, the account fails on the spot. A price recovery later in the day does not undo it.

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Drawdown lock (Sim Funded only)

On Sim Funded accounts, the max drawdown stops at a certain point and locks at the starting balance plus $100 ($50,100 on 50K). It locks when the end-of-day balance exceeds the drawdown amount plus $100, or when you request a payout, whichever comes first. After that, it does not move.

For 100K and 150K, the balance that triggers the lock differs by plan. For example, a 100K Lightning account must grow to $104,100, while Select Daily locks at $102,600.

No lock during the evaluation

On evaluation accounts (Growth and Select), the drawdown does not lock. It keeps trailing the highest balance until the end of the evaluation.

Requesting a payout also triggers the lock. Requesting while your balance is still small narrows your room for losses.

See how Tradeify payouts and the drawdown lock interact

What is the Tradeify daily loss limit (DLL)?

The Tradeify daily loss limit (DLL) stops trading for the day when you reach it. It is called a soft breach: the account is not failed, and you can resume trading from the next session.

Which accounts have a DLL, and the starting amounts

A DLL applies to Growth (evaluation and Sim Funded), Lightning and Select Daily Sim Funded accounts. The Select evaluation and Select Flex have no DLL (only Select 300K is described as having a $4,000 DLL in the evaluation). Lightning 25K also has no DLL.

At 6% profit, the DLL widens to the drawdown amount

On Growth and Lightning, once the account reaches 6% profit, the DLL widens to the same amount as the max drawdown from the next session. The balances are $26,500 for 25K, $53,000 for 50K, $106,000 for 100K and $159,000 for 150K. For accounts bought before 2025-09-12, the DLL is removed entirely at 6%.

Reset time, and why not to use it as a stop

The DLL resets at 6:00 PM ET, the start of each session. Tradeify warns against using the DLL as a substitute for a stop loss, because fast markets can push losses beyond the DLL.

How does the Tradeify consistency rule work? (evaluation or payout stage, by plan)

The Tradeify consistency rule checks what percentage of total profit for the period came from your best day. The point to watch at Tradeify is that the stage where it applies is reversed between plans.

How it is calculated

The formula is best-day profit divided by total profit. Exactly at the limit (for example 20.00%) passes; only above it fails. Commissions are not included in the profit calculation. The calculation resets once a payout is approved.

Say you win $1,500 in one day on a Select 50K evaluation. To stay at 40% or less, total profit must be $3,750 or more, so even after reaching the $3,000 profit target you do not pass until you add another $750. On the 1st Lightning 50K payout with $3,000 of profit, your best day must be $600 or less.

Going over does not fail the account

Exceeding the consistency rule does not fail the account. Trade more days to raise total profit and lower the ratio, and you can pass or request a payout. Lightning accounts bought before 2025-09-12 use 20% for every payout.

What is the Tradeify 10-second rule, and can you trade the news?

The Tradeify 10-second rule is a condition for requesting payouts from Sim Funded accounts. Evaluation accounts are exempt. Not meeting it does not fail the account, but you cannot take a payout.

• More than 50% of trades must be held longer than 10 seconds
• More than 50% of profit must come from trades held longer than 10 seconds

Both are required. Even if most of your trades by count are held over 10 seconds, you cannot request if most of your profit comes from trades of 10 seconds or less. In the official text checked on 2026-11-04, the rule applies only to Sim Funded accounts.

Trading around news releases

Tradeify places no restriction on trading around economic news releases. You can trade on every account, at your own risk. On Sim Funded accounts, though, more short trades right after a release can lower your 10-second ratio.

See Tradeify payout rules by plan

What are the Tradeify contract limits and trading hours? (no overnight holds)

Tradeify max contracts are set in mini and micro. 10 micro equal 1 mini, and full-size and E-mini contracts count as 1 mini. You can hold mini and micro at the same time as long as the total stays within the limit. The mini-to-micro conversion is standard in futures, so only Tradeify limits are listed here.

Growth and Lightning can use the full contract limit from day 1, even on Sim Funded. Select Sim Funded accounts start smaller and scale with profit (on 50K, 3 / 30 at +$1,500 and 4 / 40 at +$2,000). Purchases before 2025-09-12 have 5 / 50 for 50K, 10 / 100 for 100K and 15 / 150 for 150K.

Trading hours and close-out deadline (ET)

Tradeify gives trading hours in US Eastern Time (ET). ET is UTC-5 in winter and UTC-4 during US daylight saving time.

Overnight and weekend holds are not allowed, including on Live accounts. Within 1 session (6:00 PM ET to 4:45 PM ET the next day), you can keep a position open. Positions still open at 4:45 PM ET are closed automatically, and the account is not failed.

A trading day runs from 6:00 PM ET to 5:00 PM ET the next day. On Rithmic, trades on shortened holiday sessions are recorded on the next regular close.

Does Tradeify allow hedging?

Tradeify bans hedging. The ban is broad and goes beyond holding long and short in the same product at the same time.

• Long and short in the same product
• Correlated products in the same product group (long ES and short NQ, long MES and short NQ, and so on)
• Opposite positions across your own accounts
• Long a stock index and long volatility (FVS), treated as offsetting

3 conditions that trigger automatic detection

If an opposite position exists, lasts longer than 10 seconds, and the hedge produces more than $150 of profit, all at once, it is an automatic breach. Hedges across accounts or correlated products are reviewed separately by the risk team.

Penalties

A breach puts every related account in violation, and profit from the violation period is forfeited. Serious or repeated cases lead to a permanent ban. Setting copy trading to send opposite orders to different accounts is also a hedging violation.

Can you use bots and copy trading at Tradeify? Other prohibited conduct

Tradeify allows automated trading (bots) under conditions: you must be the sole owner, not share it with other people or firms, not use high-frequency trading (HFT), and be able to prove ownership.

Tradeify may ask for a live video of you starting the code on your own computer. You cannot use the same bot at another firm. HFT is banned whether or not it is a bot.

Copy trading

Copy trading is allowed only between accounts you own and control, using tools such as Tradovate Group Trade or the WealthCharts Trade Copier. Copying to or from other people's accounts is banned, and every account must trade in the same direction. Setup is covered in the platforms article.

See Tradeify platforms and copy trading tools

Other prohibited conduct

• Team trading, trading on someone else's instructions, third-party account management or trading in sync with others
• Exploiting platform errors (price display errors, latency and so on)
• Using unnatural prices in illiquid contract months
• Sharing an account, letting someone else trade, or paying in another person's name (not allowed even with family consent)
• Multiple profiles or getting around restrictions

There is no specific rule on averaging down (DCA), reversing or adding to positions. DCA can be part of a strategy, but unlimited averaging into a losing position is discouraged.

1 trade per week (inactivity rule)

Evaluation and Sim Funded accounts each need at least 1 trade per week (Monday to Friday). Inactive accounts may be closed, and you are contacted first.

What can you trade at Tradeify? Rule change history

Tradeify supports futures on CME, COMEX, NYMEX and CBOT. EUREX is available only on accounts that chose Tradovate, with an extra subscription.

• Equity indexes: ES, NQ, YM, RTY, EMD, NKD and micros MES, MNQ, MYM, M2K
• Energy: CL, NG, QM, QG, MCL
• Metals: GC, SI, HG, PL, PA, QO, MGC (MGC is the only micro metal)
• Currencies: 6E, 6B, 6J, 6A, 6C, 6S, M6E, M6A
• Agriculture and livestock: ZC, ZW, ZS, ZL, ZM, HE, LE, GF
• EUREX (Tradovate only): FDAX, FDXM, FDXS, FESX, FSXE, FXXP, FVS, FGBL, FGBM, FGBS, FGBX

Crypto futures (including Bitcoin futures) and Micro Silver (SIL) cannot be traded. For Nikkei futures, NKD is on the supported list.

Rule change history

The rules in this article were checked in the Tradeify official help center on 2026-11-04. Some conditions change with purchase date, so before trading, check the official rules that match your account purchase date.

See Tradeify plan differences and prices

Tradeify FAQ