Trading Rules & Risk Guidelines

Account Rules, Risk Parameters, and Platform Conduct

Halcyon Trader Funding is committed to maintaining a fair, consistent, and professional trading environment for all participants. To support your success and protect the integrity of our platform, the following rules apply to all Evaluation and Funded accounts.

1. Day Trading Requirement

All accounts are strictly for day trading only.

• All positions must be closed and all orders canceled by 4:45 PM EST (New York Time). Positions will be automatically liquidated outside of trading hours.

• Simulated Brokerage Accounts – End-of-Day Close Requirement:
  All positions and orders must be fully closed by 4:45 PM EST. Failure to do so will result in the account being automatically liquidated and placed into a failed status. As this is the final stage of simulated trading before consideration for a live account, traders are expected to understand and follow proper day-trading behavior, including being flat before the session close.

2. Profit Target

To successfully complete your evaluation, you must reach the required profit target set for your specific account size.

• Example: A $50,000 account must reach $53,000 to pass (a $3,000 profit target).

• Check your dashboard for your account’s exact target.

• 3. Trailing & End-of-Day Drawdown (Accurate Explanation)

  Trailing Drawdown

  A trailing drawdown is a moving risk limit that follows your account balance upward as you make new highs.

  How it works:

  • It is based on your highest account balance, including realized and unrealized profits.

  • As your account makes new highs, the trailing drawdown moves up with it.

  • When you take losses, the trailing drawdown does not move down.

  • If your account balance drops below the trailing drawdown level at any time, the account fails.

  In simple terms:
  Your safety line rises when you make profits, but it never goes backward. Go below it at any moment, and the account is closed.

  ---

  End-of-Day (EOD) Drawdown

  The End-of-Day Drawdown works differently but is NOT a “you can dip below it intraday” rule. That is a common misunderstanding.

  How it actually works in prop trading:

  • The EOD drawdown moves upward only based on your closing balance at the end of the trading session.

  • The new drawdown value is recalculated after each trading day.

  • At no point — intraday or at close — can your account go below the minimum drawdown threshold.

  • If you fall below the threshold at ANY time, even if you later recover and close above it, the account will still fail.

  In simple terms:
  The EOD drawdown rises only from your official closing balance — but your account must stay above the minimum drawdown line at all times. You cannot dip under it during the session and then climb back up. Falling below it at any moment results in an account violation.

4. Minimum Trading Days

A minimum number of active trading days is required to pass your evaluation. This helps ensure:

• Disciplined trading over time

• Consistent performance

• Accurate strategy evaluation

5. Contract Limits

Our platform enforces contract limits based on your account size.

• Traders are not permitted to bypass system restrictions.

• Attempting to do so, or intentionally abusing contract sizing, may result in account suspension or permanent ban.

6. Copy Trading and Multiple Accounts

• Copy trading is allowed.

• There are no limits on the number or combination of Evaluation and Funded accounts you may hold.

• There is a maximum of 3 sim brokerage and / or Ultra sim brokerage accounts at any time

7. Algorithmic & Automated Trading

We allow bots, algos, and semi-automated trading systems, under the following terms:

• You must be the sole owner of the system, and it must not be used across multiple firms.

• High-frequency trading (HFT) bots are not allowed.

• Halcyon may request proof of usage (e.g., screen share or video demonstration).

• You are fully responsible for any results produced by these systems.

8. Prohibited Conduct

The following activities are strictly prohibited:

• Exploiting platform bugs or delays (e.g., price feed discrepancies)

• Spoofing, flipping trades, or other disruptive trading practices

• Excessive daily contract usage (over 250 contracts across micros or minis)

• Coordinated trading across multiple accounts (e.g., taking opposite positions to manipulate results)

• Use of VPNs or tools to bypass geographical or account access restrictions

• Trading on behalf of others, or trading from shared devices

• Using systems to artificially inflate profits or mimic consistency

• Abusive behavior toward Halcyon staff

Halcyon reserves the right to:

• Delete trading days

• Forfeit profits

• Restart or terminate accounts

• Ban repeat offenders from the platform

Article Summary

These guidelines are here to help you trade with confidence and responsibility. Violations may result in account suspension, profit forfeiture, or platform removal.

For any clarification, contact our support team.