The real cost of FTMO Futures and Halcyon Trader Funding

Praga 1, Calle Purkynova 2121/3, 110 00, Czech Republic

Otakar Suffner

Steve A. Kubik

Czech Republic

United States

2015

2024

A small group of consistently profitable traders may be invited to a Live Funded Account at FTMO's discretion. It cannot be requested and additional country restrictions apply.

• 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.

On demand once the qualifying-day requirements for the current payout cycle are met.

• 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

Growth — per payout

• $50K: up to 50% of available profit, capped at $2,500
• $100K: up to 50% of available profit, capped at $3,000
• $150K: up to 50% of available profit, capped at $4,000

Pro — per payout

• $50K: up to 100% of available profit, capped at $5,000
• $100K: up to 100% of available profit, capped at $6,000
• $150K: up to 100% of available profit, capped at $8,000

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.

$20

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

At least 50% of every requested payout must come from new profit generated during the current payout cycle. US clients must submit Form W-9 and proof of ownership of an eligible US bank account before their first payout.

• 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.

Evaluation accounts can be reset to their original conditions without changing the monthly billing date. There is no limit on purchased resets.

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

• 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.

End-of-day trailing drawdown based on the highest closing balance. It can only move upward and locks permanently once it reaches the initial account balance.

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

90%

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

• Growth Evaluation: none
• Growth Sim-Funded: soft limit of $1,000 / $2,000 / $3,000 on 50K / 100K / 150K; positions close and trading pauses until the next day
• Pro Evaluation and Sim-Funded: hard limit of $1,000 / $1,500 / $2,000 on 50K / 100K / 150K; breach terminates the account

No daily loss limits on any plan.

Growth allows withdrawing up to 50% of available profit per cycle, leaving the remainder in the account. Pro allows up to 100%, subject to its payout cap.

• 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.

Unlimited concurrent Evaluations. Maximum 3 concurrent Sim-Funded Accounts across Growth and Pro.

Unlimited while the monthly subscription remains active.

• Evaluation accounts expire after 30 calendar days if not passed.
• Accounts inactive for more than 30 calendar days are disabled.

No fixed minimum. The Evaluation must satisfy its consistency rule, which can require multiple trading days.

• 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

No activation fee and no recurring charge on Sim-Funded or Live Funded Accounts.

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

Growth payout eligibility

• $50K: 4 days with at least $150 closed profit per day
• $100K: 4 days with at least $250 closed profit per day
• $150K: 4 days with at least $300 closed profit per day

Pro payout eligibility

• $50K: 5 days with at least $200 closed profit per day
• $100K: 5 days with at least $300 closed profit per day
• $150K: 5 days with at least $500 closed profit per day

• 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

Sim-Funded Accounts start with 2, 4 or 6 mini contracts on the 50K, 100K and 150K sizes. The limit scales with end-of-day profit up to 5, 10 or 15 minis respectively. Ten micros count as one mini.

Monthly subscription. Market data is included and there is no activation fee. After a hard breach, the trader can buy a reset or wait for the next renewal to receive a fresh Evaluation.

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.

Algorithmic trading and EAs are allowed, but manipulative automation, high-frequency strategies and latency arbitrage are prohibited. Third-party EAs can cause duplicated-strategy issues.

• 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 and VPS use is allowed if the trader remains the sole controller of the account and does not reside in a restricted country.

Opposing positions may be used within one account. Hedging or offsetting directional risk across different accounts, providers or people is prohibited.

Scalping is allowed when it reflects legitimate market trading. High-frequency and latency-arbitrage strategies are prohibited.

No fixed percentage is published, but overleveraging, one-sided bets and materially inconsistent position sizing can lead to account action or termination.

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

Copying between accounts owned by the same trader is allowed. Copying signals or decisions from another trader or third party is prohibited.

Sim-Funded Accounts receive a warning after 30 consecutive inactive days and close after a further 30 inactive days. Live Funded Accounts have no inactivity rule.

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.

• Growth Evaluation: the best day cannot exceed 40% of total profit
• Pro Evaluation: the best day cannot exceed 50% of total profit
• Sim-Funded: no consistency rule

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.

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.

Exploiting platform or data-feed errors; relying on drawdown protection as the sole exit; offsetting risk across accounts; copying third-party trades; manipulative automation, HFT or latency arbitrage; opening positions within 2% of a CME price limit; holding positions or resting orders after market close; overleveraging, account rolling, spoofing, layering, wash trading or other behaviour that cannot be replicated in a live futures market.

• 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

• 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.