Questions Before You Start?

Traders Launch is a funded trading program. You pay a one-time evaluation fee to access a simulated account. Hit your profit target within the time limit and you move toward a Simfunded account (on Premium plans, after clearing a short buffer stage and completing contract signing and KYC), where you can trade and request real payouts from your profits. No subscription, no recurring fees - just one upfront cost.

Traders Launch is for people who already know how to trade futures. You need to understand risk management and know how to use a trading platform. We don't teach you to trade; we fund you once you prove you can.

The evaluation is a one-time fee from $49 to $599, depending on account size, session, and profit-split plan. There is no subscription and no recurring billing. If you haven't passed by day 60 but you're above 50% of your profit target, you get a free 30-day extension automatically, at no extra charge.

No. You pay the evaluation fee once. There is no activation fee when you pass, no recurring charge once you're SimFunded, and no hidden cost at any stage.

Yes. Traders Launch does not accept traders from Crimea, Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Congo (Brazzaville), Democratic Republic of Congo, Cuba, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Libya, Mali, Myanmar (Burma), Russia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Yemen.

The target depends on account size and type. On standard 60% and 80% accounts it is $2,000 on $100K, $4,000 on $200K, and $6,000 on $300K. On Legacy NYC accounts it is $2,000 on $100K, $3,000 on $200K, and $5,000 on $300K. You need to reach the target while staying above your drawdown floor.

Yes. The evaluation window is 60 days. If you haven't passed by day 60 but you're above 50% of your profit target, you get a free 30-day extension automatically, at no extra cost. SimFunded accounts have no time limit once you're funded.

Yes. The evaluation requires at least 3 trading days, so you can't pass in a single day even if you reach the profit target. SimFunded accounts have no minimum number of trading days before you request a payout.

Traders Launch uses an end-of-day (EOD) drawdown, not an intraday trailing one. Your drawdown level is calculated from your closing balance each session, and it only moves up, never down. Once your account grows enough that the drawdown floor would reach your starting balance, it locks there permanently. On standard 60% and 80% accounts the drawdown is $1,000 on $100K, $2,000 on $200K, and $3,000 on $300K. On Legacy NYC accounts it is $1,000 on $100K, $1,000 on $200K, and $2,000 on $300K. We don't use intraday trailing drawdown, which we consider predatory.

During the evaluation, no single trading day can account for more than 40% of your total profits at evaluation end. If you're about to hit that limit, the system auto-closes your positions and locks you out for the rest of that session. This prevents a single lucky day from carrying the whole evaluation. The 40% rule does not apply in your Simfunded account. On our no-buffer static accounts the rule is 50% during the evaluation.

Yes. You must place at least 1 trade per week, both during the evaluation and in your SimFunded account. In the evaluation, missing a week deactivates your account. In your SimFunded account, missing a week pauses it: you remain eligible for profits and payouts, but you need to reactivate the account.

Your starting contract limit depends on account size and type. Standard 60% and 80% accounts start at 2 minis or 20 micros on $100K, 4 minis or 40 micros on $200K, and 6 minis or 60 micros on $300K. Legacy NYC accounts start at 5 micros on $100K, 1 mini or 10 micros on $200K, and 2 minis or 20 micros on $300K. The maximum across all account sizes is 15 minis, or the equivalent in micros.

Commissions are charged per contract, per side: once when you open a position and once when you close it. Micro contracts (such as MES, MNQ and MGC) cost $0.87 per side, or $1.74 per round trip. Most full-size contracts (such as ES, NQ, GC and YM) cost $2.00 per side, or $4.00 per round trip. Crude oil (CL) costs $2.70 per side, or $5.40 per round trip. A few contracts, such as agricultural and Bitcoin futures, cost more; your platform shows the exact charge on every trade.

Yes. Hedging is not permitted. That includes hedging the same instrument across multiple accounts, such as long NQ in one account and short NQ in another; hedging through correlated instruments, such as long NQ and short ES; and coordinating with another trader or group of traders to create offsetting positions across separate accounts. The rule applies whether the accounts belong to the same trader or to different traders acting together.

Yes. Reasonable scaling and averaging are allowed. Repeatedly adding size to losing positions, especially as a routine part of most trades, is considered excessive martingale-style trading and may result in an account review.

Scalping is allowed; HFT-style trading is not. For this rule, scalping means trades held for 5–30 seconds. If more than 10% of your trades are opened and fully closed within two seconds, our HFT filter may flag your account and pause it for review.

Yes. Hedging and HFT-style trading are prohibited, and excessive martingale-style trading may result in an account review. Scalping and reasonable scaling and averaging are allowed, within the rules described here and in the Terms of Service.

Yes. The name on the payment card must match your registered account name. Purchases made with someone else's card are blocked to prevent fraud, with no exceptions.

Yes. You pass the evaluation, build your buffer in your buffer account, complete contract signing and KYC, and move into a payout-eligible Simfunded account. There is no Phase 2, no second evaluation, and no post-pass consistency check.

After passing the evaluation you're moved into a buffer account. Before requesting your first payout, you need to build a small profit buffer above your starting balance. Buffer amounts: standard 60% and 80% accounts: 100K: $1,000; 200K: $2,000; 300K: $3,000. Legacy NYC accounts: 100K: $1,000; 200K: $1,000; 300K: $2,000. Once you've cleared your buffer and completed contract signing and KYC, you move into your payout-eligible Simfunded account.

You can request a payout once your SimFunded account is above +1% profit from its starting balance. You keep the profit split of the plan you chose at purchase: 60% or 80% on standard accounts, 55% or 80% on Legacy NYC and earlier 55% accounts. There is no consistency rule once you're SimFunded and no restriction on when you can request. At $100,000 in cumulative payouts you are paused and become eligible for scaling opportunities, including increased allocations and priority consideration for live-capital opportunities.

Payouts are processed daily. Crypto (USDT on Solana) and ACH bank transfers are processed every 24 hours. Wire transfers are processed weekly, and when the funds arrive depends on your bank's processing time.

No. Taking a payout does not lower your drawdown floor. Once your drawdown locks at your starting balance, which happens as you grow past the buffer stage, it stays fixed regardless of payouts. Your drawdown is permanently locked once you've cleared the buffer stage and entered your SimFunded account.

Three: TradingView (in the browser, no download), Volumetrica (desktop and web), and Quantower (desktop). All three work for evaluation and SimFunded accounts. MES and MNQ come preloaded on every account; MGC (micro gold), MCL (micro crude oil), SIL (micro silver), and MYM (micro Dow) are available on request.

Our standard 60% and 80% accounts trade from 6:00pm–4:00pm ET the following day. Legacy NYC accounts trade from 9:30am–4:00pm ET and remain available in the Legacy accounts section. Legacy pricing, targets, contract limits, and drawdown still apply. You can't switch sessions mid-evaluation.

Micro and mini futures. MES (micro S&P 500) and MNQ (micro Nasdaq) are preloaded. MGC (micro gold), MCL (micro crude oil), SIL (micro silver), and MYM (micro Dow) are available on request. Full-size minis (ES, NQ, GC, CL, YM) are also tradeable within your contract limits.

Yes, through their futures equivalents: SPX as ES or MES, NDX as NQ or MNQ, gold as GC or MGC, oil as CL or MCL, and US30 (Dow) as YM or MYM. All are available within your account's contract limits.

Use your Volumetrica credentials to connect Quantower to your Traders Launch account. Access is included, so you don't need a separate Quantower subscription. Full setup instructions are in your account setup email. If you run into issues, ask in Discord.

Up to 5 funded futures accounts at a time. All funded traders move into a SimFunded account once they clear the buffer stage.