It's a paid evaluation on a demo trading account. You trade against a profit target and a set of risk limits (maximum daily loss, maximum overall loss, minimum trading days). Pass the evaluation and you're offered a funded account to trade with simulated capital, keeping a share of the profit you generate.

The 1-Step challenge has a single evaluation phase with a higher profit target and tighter loss limits. The 2-Step challenge splits the evaluation into two phases with a lower target each, and slightly more room on drawdown — a better fit if you prefer to prove consistency gradually.

Payout requests are typically reviewed and processed within 24–48 hours of approval. You can request a payout on a recurring cycle once your funded account is active.

No. Challenges and funded accounts run on simulated capital in a demo environment for the purpose of evaluating trading and risk-management skill. Payouts are performance-based rewards, not proceeds from live market trades. See the Risk Disclosure page for full details.

Yes, on most programs — algorithmic trading and news trading are allowed by default. A small number of specialty plans restrict specific strategies; those restrictions are listed on the plan's own rules page.

Breaching the maximum daily loss or maximum overall loss on a given account ends that account's evaluation or funded status. You're welcome to purchase a new challenge and start again.