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Comparison · Futures

Getting paid at E8 Market Futures and Halcyon Trader Funding

The fundamental difference between these two firms lies in the speed of access to liquidity versus the total profit share: while E8 Market Futures prioritizes daily payouts and rapid advancement through its Zero accounts, Halcyon Trader Funding offers a higher standard percentage and a structured path toward a live brokerage environment.

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The split

E8 Market Futures offers a base profit split of 80% for the trader. However, on their Zero Starter and Zero Max plans, traders have the option to increase this share to 100% at the time of purchase.

Halcyon Trader Funding provides a more aggressive standard split of 90% for all its simulated accounts (Lite, Prime, and Dynamic). If a trader successfully transitions to their Live Brokerage account via the 10X Training Program, the split reaches 100%.

How often you can withdraw

At E8 Market Futures, the frequency depends on the chosen model:

  • Zero Starter and Zero Max: Payouts are available daily.
  • Signature Futures: Payouts are available on demand once requirements are met.

At Halcyon Trader Funding, withdrawals are not tied to a calendar window but to performance cycles. You can request a reward after completing 6 "qualifying trading days." Once a payout is approved, the counter resets to zero for the next cycle.

Minimums and methods

E8 Market Futures is more accessible for small withdrawals, with a minimum of $100. They process payments via Bank Transfer, Crypto, and Rise.

Halcyon Trader Funding requires a minimum of $250 per request. Their available methods are Rise and Crypto.

What delays a payout

Several rules can act as a brake on your first withdrawal:

  • Consistency Rules: E8 Signature requires that no single day exceeds 35% of the total profit to be eligible for a payout. Halcyon Prime (and Dynamic, if selected) applies a 40% rule where the best day cannot represent more than 40% of the total profit.
  • Minimum Profitable Days: E8 Signature requires 5 profitable days (at least 0.3% profit each) between payouts after the first one. Halcyon requires 6 days that must each meet a "Minimum Daily Profit" (e.g., $200 for a 50K account) to count toward the withdrawal cycle.
  • The Buffer: E8 Signature requires leaving a non-withdrawable buffer equal to the maximum drawdown. In contrast, Halcyon has removed the mandatory buffer for accounts purchased after August 8, 2024, allowing withdrawals as long as the balance is above the initial amount.

What it takes to get there

To reach the funded stage, you must overcome a one-step evaluation in both firms, but the environment differs:

  • Investment and Size: E8 offers accounts from 25K ($110) to 200K ($1088). Halcyon’s 50K Dynamic evaluation is notably cheap ($47-$49), while their 150K Prime costs $358.
  • Platforms: E8 is locked into Tradovate. Halcyon offers a wide range, including TradingView, Quantower, ATAS, and Volumetrica.
  • Trading Style: E8 strictly prohibits automated trading (EAs/Bots) and HFT. Halcyon allows bots and semi-automated systems, provided the trader is the sole owner of the algorithm.
  • Risk Management: Both use End-of-Day (EOD) drawdown in their main plans, which is more trader-friendly as intraday fluctuations do not penalize the maximum loss limit. However, E8 has a strict 7-day inactivity rule, whereas Halcyon allows up to 30 days of inactivity.

Which pays out more comfortably

E8 Market Futures is the better choice for traders seeking immediate cash flow. Their Zero accounts with daily payouts and a low $100 minimum are designed for those who want to see the results of their work in their bank account as quickly as possible.

Halcyon Trader Funding is better suited for disciplined traders or those using automated systems. Although the 6-day qualifying cycle and the $250 minimum require more patience, the 90% split and the variety of professional platforms offer a more robust environment for long-term growth.

Frequently asked questions

Which firm is cheaper to start an evaluation, E8 Market Futures or Halcyon?

Halcyon Trader Funding is cheaper for the entry-level 50K size, offering a Dynamic evaluation for as low as $47. E8 Market Futures starts at $110 for a smaller 25K account, making Halcyon the more cost-effective option for those looking for the lowest initial investment on a standard account size.

Which firm allows the use of Bots and EAs, E8 Market Futures or Halcyon?

Halcyon Trader Funding allows bots, algorithms, and semi-automated systems as long as the trader owns the system and does not use HFT. In contrast, E8 Market Futures strictly prohibits any form of automated or semi-automated trading, including AI tools and bots, making Halcyon the only choice for algorithmic traders.

Who offers a faster first payout, E8 Market Futures or Halcyon?

E8 Market Futures is faster, as its Zero Starter and Zero Max accounts allow for daily payouts and the Signature accounts can be passed in just 1 day. Halcyon requires at least 6 qualifying trading days that meet a minimum profit requirement before any reward can be requested, which naturally extends the time to the first withdrawal.

Which firm offers more trading platforms, E8 Market Futures or Halcyon?

Halcyon Trader Funding offers significantly more variety, supporting TradingView, Quantower, ATAS, Volumetrica, and others via Rithmic or Ironbeam. E8 Market Futures is limited exclusively to the Tradovate platform, providing fewer options for traders who prefer specific analytical tools.

Field by field

E8 Markets Futures and Halcyon Trader Funding, side by side

Rules, plans, platforms, leverage, commissions and payouts of both, with the option to see only what differs.

Head to head

41 differences

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42%off · Exclusive
Headquarters

100 Crescent Ct, Unit 700, Dallas, Texas 75201, US

No data
CEO

Dylan Elchami

Steve A. Kubik

Country

United States

United States

Foundation

2021

2024

Banned Countries
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Antarctica, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burma (Myanmar), Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Crimea, Croatia, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Ghana, Gibraltar, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kosovo, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Macedonia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mongolia, Montenegro, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Palestine, State of, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Kinshasa), Cuba, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, Iraq, Korea, North, Libya, Mali, Russian Federation, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela
Assets
Futures
Futures
Brokers
No data
Ironbeam, Rithmic, Nexus Connect
Payout Fee

E8 charges no payout fee. WorkMarket or Rise may charge a processing fee depending on the selected withdrawal method.

No data
Platforms
Tradovate
Tradingview, Volumetrica, ATAS, Quantower, Onyx, Tradesea, WealthCharts
Payout Methods
Transfer, Crypto, Rise
Rise, Crypto
Live Account
No

Challenge and SimFi Performance accounts are simulated. Futures market data is sourced from CME.

Yes
  • Halcyon may transition traders to a Live Brokerage account once consistency and risk management are demonstrated.
  • Trader Live Training Program: intermediate stage in a simulated environment that rewards milestones before live transition.
  • Live Brokerage: daily reward requests (Mon–Fri), 100% profit split, swing trading allowed, margin-based contract limits.
  • Exclusive to the Ironbeam platform.
  • Starting capital on live typically matches the qualifying Reward Account's drawdown amount.
Payment Methods
Card, Crypto
Card, Crypto
Payout Frequency
  • Signature Futures: on demand once all payout requirements are met.
  • Zero Starter and Zero Max: daily, minimum $100.
  • 6 qualifying trading days are required before each reward request
  • All 6 days must meet the applicable Minimum Daily Profit Requirement
  • Lite/Prime minimums: $100 for 25K, $200 for 50K and $350 for 150K
  • Dynamic minimums: $200 for 50K, $275 for 75K, $325 for 100K and $400 for 150K
  • After each approved reward, all qualifying trading days reset to zero
  • No payout window: requests can be submitted whenever the dashboard shows an eligible reward amount
  • Processed first-in, first-out, up to 3 business days
Maximum Withdrawal

E8 Signature Futures

Payout $25K $50K $100K $150K
1st–2nd $1,000 $1,250 $2,250 $3,250
3rd–4th $1,250 $2,250 $3,250 $4,250
5th $1,500 $3,250 $4,250 $5,250

E8 Zero Starter

  • $50K: $1,000
  • $100K: $1,600
  • $200K: $2,100

E8 Zero Max

  • $50K: $3,000
  • $100K: $5,000
  • $200K: $7,000

Signature Futures and Zero allow a maximum of 5 payouts per account; after the fifth, the account closes and a free Challenge of the same size is issued.

Lite and Prime

  • 25K: 50% of profits, up to $1,000 per reward
  • 50K: 50% of profits, up to $2,000 per reward
  • 150K: 50% of profits, up to $3,000 per reward

Dynamic

  • 50K: up to $1,250 per reward
  • 75K: up to $1,550 per reward
  • 100K: up to $2,000 per reward
  • 150K: up to $3,000 per reward

Maximum 5 approved rewards per account. After the 5th reward, the account may be reviewed for transition to the TLT Program or a Live Brokerage account.

Minimum Withdrawal

$100

Minimum reward request: $250. Lite, Prime and Dynamic Reward Accounts only need net profit above their starting balance; there is no buffer to clear.

Other Payout Requirements

Payouts require successful onboarding and KYC with WorkMarket or Rise. If neither provider accepts the trader, E8 cannot process the payout.

No data
Commission
No data
  • Based on the default (free) membership tier of platform partners.
  • Fees include: exchange, NFA, clearing and platform commission.
  • Calculated per contract, per round trip.
  • Micro contracts generally have lower fees than mini contracts.
Account Reset

After an account fails, a 10% discount is available for 7 days to retry the same account size and settings.

  • Unlimited resets available for a fee (via the Trader Dashboard).
  • Restores a fresh account balance with all risk parameters reset.
Add-ons
Yes

Zero Starter and Zero Max allow the payout share to be increased from the 80% base configuration to 100% at checkout.

Yes
  • Halcyon Prime: 1-Day Pass add-on. Price by size: +$18 (25K), +$27 (50K), +$41 (150K).
  • Bypasses the 40% consistency rule.
  • Allows passing the evaluation in a single trading day.
  • Halcyon Lite has no add-ons.
Instant
No
No
One Step
Yes
Yes
Account scaling
No
No
Max Drawdown

EOD Dynamic Drawdown based on the highest end-of-day balance. Intraday equity does not move it. It locks permanently at the initial balance level.

Halcyon Lite (Intraday Trailing)

  • $25K: $1,000 | $50K: $2,000 | $150K: $4,000
  • Tracks Total Liquidation Value including unrealized profits
  • Locks permanently at starting balance + $100 after the first approved reward

Halcyon Prime (End-of-Day)

  • $25K: $1,000 | $50K: $2,000 | $150K: $4,500
  • Updates only at end of trading session based on closing balance
  • Locks permanently at starting balance + $100 after the first approved reward

Halcyon Dynamic

  • Evaluation: $2,000 on the 50K account; Intraday or End-of-Day selected at purchase
  • Reward: $2,000 on 50K | $2,500 on 75K | $3,000 on 100K | $4,000 on 150K
  • Reward drawdown can be Intraday or End-of-Day, independently of the evaluation choice
  • Locks permanently at starting balance + $100 after the first approved reward
Profit Split
  • Signature Futures: 80%.
  • Zero Starter/Max: 80% base; 100% can be selected at checkout.

90/10 profit split on all Lite, Prime and Dynamic Reward Accounts. Trader keeps 90%, firm keeps 10%.

Free Trial
No
No
Daily Drawdown
  • Signature Challenge: none.
  • Signature Performance: 2% Daily Pause (soft breach; trading resumes the next day).
  • Zero Challenge and Performance: none.

No daily loss limits on any plan.

Max Allocation
  • Challenge stage: unlimited accounts.
  • Signature Futures: up to 5 active Performance accounts.
  • Zero Starter/Max: up to 3 active Performance accounts. Limits apply per household.
150,000
Mandatory buffer
Limited

Signature requires leaving a non-withdrawable buffer equal to the EOD Dynamic Drawdown before payouts. On Zero, any profit left after a payout remains as buffer and cannot be requested in a later cycle.

No
  • No buffer. Removed for accounts purchased from 8 Aug 2026.
  • To request a reward it is enough to be above the account starting balance: there is no locked amount to build or maintain.
  • Previously a buffer of drawdown + $100 was required, and withdrawing from within it was not allowed.
  • After the first approved reward, the maximum loss limit moves permanently to starting balance + $100.
Merge Accounts
No
No
Maximum Trading Days

Unlimited, but the account closes after 7 days of inactivity.

  • Evaluation accounts expire after 30 calendar days if not passed.
  • Accounts inactive for more than 30 calendar days are disabled.
Minimum Trading Days
  • Signature Futures: can pass in 1 day.
  • Zero Starter/Max: earliest pass in 3 days because of the 40% Best Day rule.
  • Halcyon Lite Evaluation: 1 trading day
  • Halcyon Prime Evaluation: 3 trading days, or 1 day with the 1-Day Pass add-on
  • Halcyon Dynamic Evaluation: 1 trading day
  • All Reward Accounts: 6 qualifying trading days before each reward request; the counter resets to zero after each approved reward
Funded Phase Pricing Model

No activation fee or recurring subscription.

Lite and Prime

  • With activation-fee pricing, the activation fee is paid once after passing
  • With no-activation-fee pricing, no payment is required after passing
  • Both options lead to the same Reward Account rules

Dynamic

  • After passing, the trader pays a one-time upgrade fee based on the selected Reward Account size, drawdown type and consistency option
Minimum Profitable Days
  • Signature: 5 profitable days between payouts after the first payout; a profitable day requires at least 0.3% realized profit.
  • Zero Starter/Max: no minimum profitable days in Performance.
  • Halcyon Lite Evaluation: 1 trading day
  • Halcyon Prime Evaluation: 3 trading days, or 1 day with the 1-Day Pass add-on
  • Halcyon Dynamic Evaluation: 1 trading day
  • All Reward Accounts: 6 qualifying trading days meeting the applicable Minimum Daily Profit Requirement before each reward request
Position size scaling
Limited

Only Zero Performance accounts scale contract allowance. At 1.5% locked profit the first level unlocks the next day; at 3% the second level unlocks. Signature and Zero Challenge contract limits do not scale.

No
Evaluation Phase Pricing Model

One-time fee. No subscription.

Lite and Prime
Two one-time pricing options are available:

  • With activation fee: lower evaluation fee, then a separate activation fee after passing
  • No activation fee: higher all-in evaluation fee; upgrade to the Reward Account is free

Dynamic

  • One-time 50K evaluation fee: $47 with Intraday Trailing drawdown or $49 with End-of-Day drawdown
  • A separate Reward Account upgrade fee is paid after passing

No subscriptions or recurring billing.

Two Steps
No data
No
Expert Advisor (EA)
No

Semi-automated and fully automated trading, including bots, AI tools and HFT above 300 trades per day, is prohibited on Futures.

Limited
  • Bots, algos and semi-automated systems are allowed.
  • You must be the sole owner of the system.
  • The system cannot be used across multiple firms.
  • HFT (high-frequency trading) bots are not allowed.
  • Halcyon may request proof of usage.
VPN
No data
No
Hedging
No

Futures accounts use a netting system. Hedging across multiple accounts or users is prohibited.

No
Requires Stop Loss
No data
No
Scalping
Limited

At least 50% of total profit must come from trades held for 10 seconds or longer.

Yes
Stacking / Layering (DCA)
No data
Yes
Maximum Risk Limit
Limited

There is no fixed percentage risk cap, but irresponsible, all-or-nothing or disproportionate risk-taking can trigger review or account termination.

Yes
  • Contract limits are applied based on account size.
  • Excessive daily contract usage is prohibited (over 250 contracts across micros or minis).
Copy Trading
Limited

Allowed only between accounts owned by the same trader. Team trading, signals and copying another trader are prohibited.

Yes
News Trading
Yes
Yes
Inactivity Rule
Yes

The account closes after 7 days without opening and closing at least one trade.

Accounts must place at least one trade every 30 consecutive calendar days. Accounts inactive for more than 30 days will be considered inactive and may be disabled. Evaluation accounts also expire 30 calendar days after starting if not passed.

Consistency Rule
Limited
  • Zero Challenge: 40% Best Day rule; if the best day exceeds 40% of total profit, the effective target increases.
  • Zero Performance: no consistency rule.
  • Signature Challenge: no consistency rule.
  • Signature Performance: 35% Best Day rule for payout eligibility.
Limited

Halcyon Lite

  • No consistency rule on evaluation or reward accounts.

Halcyon Prime

  • 40% consistency rule on BOTH evaluation and reward accounts.
  • No single trading day's profit may exceed 40% of total profits during the qualifying period.
  • 1-Day Pass Add-On allows bypassing the consistency requirement during evaluation only.

Halcyon Dynamic

  • When upgrading after passing the evaluation, the trader chooses a Reward Account with 40% consistency or no consistency.
Hold Weekend
No
No

Day trading only. All positions must be closed and all orders canceled by 4:45 PM EST (New York Time). Positions are automatically liquidated outside trading hours. No overnight or weekend holding on any account type.

Prohibited Strategies
  • Exploiting gaps, illiquid markets, pricing errors or slow data feeds
  • Semi-automated or fully automated trading, bots, AI tools and HFT above 300 trades/day
  • Trading within 2% of a CME product lock limit
  • Irresponsible or all-or-nothing trading
  • Hedging across accounts or users
  • Tick scalping where less than 50% of profit comes from trades held at least 10 seconds
  • Trading anything other than the front-month contract
  • Account rolling and strategies that are not reproducible in real markets
  • Hedging on the same or related underlying assets (e.g. ES + MES, NQ + MNQ)
  • Opposite Direction Trades within or across accounts (CME Rule 534 – Wash Trades, CME Rule 575 – Disruptive Practices)
  • Mixing micro and mini contracts on the same asset
  • Holding positions outside trading hours / overnight / weekend
  • Account sharing or third-party trading
Overnight positions
No

All positions are forcibly closed every trading day at 15:10 CT. Trading is permitted from 17:00 to 15:10 CT.

No
  • All positions must be closed and all orders canceled by 4:45 PM EST.
  • Positions are automatically liquidated outside trading hours.
  • Failing to close may trigger automatic liquidation and account failure.
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