Are there any prohibited trading practices and or methods?

To promote consistent and responsible trading, all TradingCult accounts are subject to the Trading Rules below.

A violation of any of these rules will result in a breach of the account.

Where a trader consistently trades at or very close to the permitted limits, TradingCult reserves the right to review the account and, where appropriate, apply additional or adjusted risk limits on an individual basis. Trading activity that is deemed to be consistently structured to circumvent or remain marginally within the permitted limits may also result in a breach of the account.

1. Maximum Risk – 2% per Symbol and Direction

• The maximum risk on any individual symbol and direction must not exceed 2% of the account's Initial Balance.
• Risk is calculated as the potential loss, in USD, if the trade reaches its Stop Loss, expressed as a percentage of the account's Initial Balance. Trading costs, such as commissions and swaps, are not included in this calculation.

Multiple Positions on the Same Symbol

• • Where multiple positions in the same direction on the same symbol are open at the same time, their risk is combined when calculating the 2% limit.
  • Splitting a larger position into several smaller positions does not provide an additional risk allowance.
  • For example, on an account with an Initial Balance of $100,000, the maximum permitted risk is $2,000 (2%) per symbol and direction.
  • If a trader has three EURUSD Buy positions open at the same time with potential losses at their respective Stop Loss levels of $500, $700 and $600, the combined EURUSD Buy risk is $1,800 (1.8%) and remains within the permitted limit.
  • Opening another EURUSD Buy position, or modifying an existing Stop Loss, so that the combined risk exceeds $2,000 (2%) would result in a breach.
  • Positions on different symbols are assessed separately.

Hedged Positions

• • Where both Buy and Sell positions are open on the same symbol, the Buy and Sell sides are assessed separately for the Maximum Risk rule.
  • This means the combined risk of all open Buy positions on a symbol must remain within 2% of the Initial Balance, and the combined risk of all open Sell positions on the same symbol must also remain within 2%.
  • For example, on an account with an Initial Balance of $100,000, EURUSD Buy positions may have combined risk of up to $2,000 (2%), while EURUSD Sell positions may separately have combined risk of up to $2,000 (2%).

When Is Risk Measured?

• • Risk is measured when a trade is opened and is also reassessed if the Stop Loss is subsequently modified.
  • Moving a Stop Loss further away from the entry price so that the individual or combined risk exceeds the applicable 2% limit will result in a breach.

2. Minimum Trade Duration – 30 Seconds

• Every trade must remain open for a minimum of 30 seconds.
• Trade duration is measured from the time the position is opened until the time it is closed.
• Any position that is closed less than 30 seconds after it was opened will result in a breach of this rule.

3. Trade Size Consistency – Maximum 5× Median

• Trade sizes must remain reasonably consistent with the trader's previous trading activity.
• Once an account has completed 10 trades, the Trade Size Consistency rule becomes applicable.
  
• A new trade may not exceed 5 times (5×) the trader's median historical trade size.
• Trade size is measured using USD exposure rather than lots. This allows trade sizes across instruments with different contract specifications to be measured consistently.
  
  What Is the Median Trade Size?
  
  • The median is the middle value of the trader's historical trade sizes when the trades are arranged from smallest to largest based on their USD exposure.
  • For example, if the trader's historical trade sizes are: $20,000 – $40,000 – $50,000 – $70,000 – $100,000, the median trade size is $50,000.
  • The maximum permitted size of a new trade would therefore be: $50,000 × 5 = $250,000
  • A new trade exceeding $250,000 in USD exposure would breach the Trade Size Consistency rule.
  • Where there is an even number of historical trades, the median is calculated using the average of the two middle values.
  • The median is based on the trader's trading history and may therefore change as additional trades are completed.

4. Mandatory Stop Loss – 2 Minutes

• Every trade must have a Stop Loss.
• A Stop Loss can be placed when the trade is opened or added within a maximum of 2 minutes from the time the trade is opened.
• If a position remains open for more than 2 minutes without a Stop Loss, the account will breach the Mandatory Stop Loss rule.
  
  Stop Loss and the 2% Maximum Risk Rule
  
  • Adding a Stop Loss within the permitted two-minute period does not override the Maximum Risk rule.
  • The Stop Loss must be positioned so that the potential loss remains within the applicable 2% Maximum Risk limit.
  • Moving an existing Stop Loss further away from the entry price is permitted only where the resulting risk remains within the applicable 2% limit.
  • If moving the Stop Loss causes the risk to exceed 2%, the account will breach the Maximum Risk rule.

What Happens If I Break a Trading Rule?

• A violation of any of the Trading Rules above will result in an account breach and failure of the account.
• The Trading Rules apply to trades opened after the relevant rule has been activated on the account.

Holding Shares during Earnings

• Holding a Single Share Equity CFD position into an earnings release pertaining to that underlying equity.  To avoid being in breach of this rule, you must close all such Single Share Equity CFD positions by 3:50 pm Eastern Time on the day of the release, if an aftermarket release, or on the preceding day, if a before market open release.  Violation of this rule will constitute an immediate, hard breach of your account and any gain or loss on said position will be removed from any calculations

Arbitrage and Latency

• Attempting to exploit any system bugs, perform any latency arbitrage (trades using an external or slow data feed) or any other form of arbitrage in your account with another account with the Company or any third-party company, as determined by the Company in its sole and absolute discretion. Arbitrage traders exploit price differences, potentially causing prices to stray from their fundamental values and introducing discrepancies in market pricing. One method involves engaging in statistical arbitrage, where a trader concurrently buys and sells correlated instruments, leveraging historical price patterns to identify opportunities.

System Exploits

• The use of unfair advantages, such as taking advantage of platform or data freezing due to errors on demo servers, is strictly forbidden. This policy ensures fairness among all traders and prevents any deceptive practices. Traders caught engaging in such behavior will undergo investigation, and appropriate actions, including potential access removal from our demo servers, may be taken. Should traders encounter server issues, they are urged to promptly notify Trading Cult's support team.

Hedging

• Execute, either independently or in collaboration with any other parties, including across interconnected accounts or accounts held with different entities, transactions, or combinations of transactions with the intent of manipulating trading activities. This could involve actions such as simultaneously initiating opposing positions. Hedging is not allowed between two different accounts. It is allowed only on the same account belonging to one trader within the 2 Step Evaluation.

High-Frequency Trading (HFT) and Tick Scalping

• Strategies that place trades in rapid succession or aim to profit from very small price movements are not allowed.

Sharing your account

• Account sharing refers to the unauthorized practice of distributing or selling Trading Cult accounts to other individuals or entities. This behavior violates Trading Cult's Terms and Conditions and is strictly prohibited. A zero-tolerance approach is maintained towards account sharing due to various reasons related to security, fairness, and compliance.

ALL in 1 Bet

• It is against the intended spirit of trading and fairness to reach the profit target through a single trade. We expect our traders to demonstrate consistent trading behavior, adhering to proper Risk Management practices, and refraining from attempting to achieve the target through one trade. This rule applies to any trade where the profit generated from one position is equal to or exceeds the account’s profit target. 

Copy Trading & Reverse Copy Trading

• Trading services such as copy trading, account management, and "pass my challenge" are strictly prohibited. Traders are expected to operate independently. Trading Cult employs an automated flagging system to detect significant similarities between trades made by different accounts, including factors like opening and closing prices, lot sizes, and symbols. If your account triggers a flag, it will undergo manual review.

Can automated trading algorithms, software, EA’s or bots be used? 

• TradingCult encourages traders to showcase their skills and expertise without relying on automated trading algorithms, software, Expert Advisors (EAs), or bots. Our goal is to evaluate traders based on their individual abilities rather than the use of automated tools. To ensure a fair and transparent assessment of each trader's performance, the use of such automated systems is prohibited. Any violation of this policy will result in a hard breach and the subsequent failure of the challenge.

Is news trading permitted?

• Traders must refrain from opening any trades within a defined time period prior to or after major news announcements. You may hold existing positions during this time, but if a trade closes within the window, whether by Take Profit, Stop Loss, or manual action, it will still count as news trading. Any trade that opens or closes inside the restricted timeframe will be treated as a breach and will cause the Funded Evaluation to fail.

• • Trading Gold (XAUUSD) during any high-impact economic news release from the European Union (including member states) or G7 countries (United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom) will result in a breach.
  • Trading during any US high-impact news event will result in a breach across all instruments, including Forex, Metals, Indices, Stocks, and Crypto.
  • Trading stock indices during high-impact news related to the country or region of the index may result in a breach. For example, trading a European index during high-impact European or relevant national news events, or trading any index during high-impact US news, will result in a violation.
  • For currency pairs, trading during high-impact news related to either currency in the pair will result in a breach. For example, trading CADJPY during CAD or JPY news will result in a violation.

Major news events are categorized in our Economic Calendar as High Importance and include but are not limited to:

• Consumer Price Index (CPI)
• Producer Price Index (PPI)
• Gross Domestic Product (GDP) releases
• Unemployment Rate announcements
• Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP)
• Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meetings and statements
• Central bank interest rate decisions (e.g., Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of England, etc.)
• Retail Sales reports
• Consumer Confidence Index (CCI)
• Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI)

 You can find the Economic Calendar here

Prohibition of High-Risk, Gambling, and Exploitative Trading Practices

Engaging in trading strategies that involve inappropriate risk management, exploit statistical vulnerabilities, or exhibit gambling-like behaviour to gain an unfair advantage is strictly prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Excessive Risk-Taking: Trading patterns involving substantial exposure to risk.
• "All-In" Trading: Committing a substantial portion of available capital or margin to a single trade.
• Improper Use of Leverage: Risking a significant portion of the account in one trade or across multiple one-directional trades or positions.
• Inconsistent Strategies: Trading without a consistent approach, either within a single account or across multiple accounts/challenges.
• Account Rolling: Continuously purchasing multiple evaluation challenges and recklessly trading them undermines the integrity of your strategy.

Trading behaviours that involve high margin utilisation, binary event trading (such as consistently placing trades just before major economic news releases), or excessive leverage are not allowed. Such practices undermine sound risk management principles and compromise the integrity of responsible trading.

Traders are expected to adhere to disciplined, well-managed strategies in line with established risk management standards. If found engaging in these prohibited practices, the Company reserves the right to close the account immediately, with potential forfeiture of any fees owed to the trader, following a thorough review, at the Company's sole discretion.