We provide traders with flexibility in choosing their simulated trading styles and simulated strategies. However, we do have restrictions in place to prevent abusive practices and ensure fair simulated trading experiences. Please find below a comprehensive list of prohibited simulated trading practices. Violation of any of these requirements will result in immediate failure and closing of your simulated account.

Cheating Is Prohibited

• Any trading styles that are deemed as "cheating", or otherwise not reflective of trading in the real market, are not permitted and will result in a violation of our Terms of Use. For this reason, it is against our rules to take advantage of strategies that generate risk-free, consistent simulated profits only on demo accounts.          
   
• Our Simulated Traders are expected to trade on their accounts as if they are live accounts. Any use of a strategy that exploits demo accounts will lead to the closure of the simulated account, whether in the evaluation phase or while being funded.          
   
• Please note that the use of account management, "pass your challenge", or copy trading services is strictly prohibited and will result in the rejection of any Simulated Funded Accounts, as well as a permanent ban from all FCT services.

Prohibited Simulated Trading Style

• Knowingly or unknowingly use simulated trading strategies that exploit errors in the services, such as price display errors or delayed updates.         
   
• Execute simulated trades using an external or slow data feed.         
   
• Engage in simulated trades, either individually or in collaboration with others (including connected live accounts and/or demo accounts or demo accounts held with different FCT entities), with the intent to manipulate simulated or actual live trading, such as entering into simultaneous opposite positions.         
   
• Conduct simulated trades that contradict the terms and conditions of the provider and the trading platform.         
   
• Utilize software, artificial intelligence, ultra-high-speed techniques, or mass data entry methods that may manipulate, abuse, or provide an unfair advantage when using our systems or services.         
   
• Perform simulated trades in a manner that contradicts how trading is typically conducted in the actual live forex market or any other actual live or simulated financial market, or in a way that raises concerns about potential financial or other harm to the provider resulting from the customer's activities.

Prohibited Simulated Trading Practices

• Copy Trading: 
  • Traders are strictly prohibited, in any circumstances, copying trades from third-party sources using any signals provider, services, software or expert advisors (EA's).                       
    
    This includes, but is not limited to:              
     
    • Any type of Copy Trading service.
    • Any type of Signal Provider service.
    • Any type of Account Management service.
    • Any type of "Pass Your Challenge" service.
    • Any software or EAs that copying external trades to your account.              
      
      All trades taken on any FCT Simulated Account must originate from the trader's own idea and execution, otherwise it will be considered a violation/ breach.            
       
  • Traders are strictly prohibited, in any circumstances,  copying trades from one FCT user profile to another FCT user profile.           
    
    This includes, but is not limited to:          
     
    • Raising identical trades in more than one FCT user profile.
    • Raising similar trades as one or more other Traders within identical time intervals or time horizons.
    • Raising similar trades as one or more other Traders within similar time intervals or time horizons .
    • Raising trades akin to one or more other Traders or a variation of either (and) identical or very similar order sizes and instruments, and/ or trades raised within identical or similar time intervals and horizons.
    • Using the same Expert Advisor or Expert Advisor parameters as other traders. Traders’ EA parameters must be unique for their trading accounts only.         
      
      To clarify, "trade copying" refers to the use of software designed to replicate trades across different FCT user profiles automatically, or the practice of manually executing similar trades across multiple FCT user profiles in a coordinated manner.         
      
      For more explanation about trade copiers, please refer to this article.       
       
• Reverse Trading/Group Hedging:     
  
  Grid trading is a trading strategy that involves placing inverse buy and sell orders of the same instrument for the exact or similar risk. This strategy can lead to market manipulation, over-leveraging, market instability, and a potential risk-free simulated profit.    
   
  • Simulated Hedging or executing simulated reverse trades within a single demo account is permissible.     
     
  • However, executing a simulated buy trade on one demo account and a simulated sell trade on another demo account is prohibited. This violates the rule against simulated reverse trading or simulated hedging across multiple demo accounts.     
     
  • Simulated Group hedging involves individuals coordinating opposing positions across one or multiple prop firms or simulated prop firms to reduce/eliminate risk and exploit prop firm or simulated prop firm rules. This practice is also prohibited.      
     
• Account Management Services:     
    
  • Purchasing or providing live account or demo account management services or engaging in prop firm or simulated prop firm passing services is strictly forbidden.     
     
  • Sharing your demo account information or allowing someone else to pass a challenge on your behalf is prohibited. Violation of this rule will result in the loss of all involved demo accounts.      
     
• HFT (High-Frequency Trading):     
  
  High-Frequency Trading (HFT) refers to complex algorithmic trading in which large numbers of orders are executed within short time periods.  
    
  • High-frequency trading (HFT) is strictly prohibited as it can lead to market manipulation, unfair advantages, and can cause instability in the market. Any trader found to be engaging in HFT will breach the FCT Terms of Use and lose the ability to trade on our platform.   
      
  • Engaging in HFT methods will be considered a violation, and demo accounts associated with such practices will be terminated.      
     
  • For a more in-depth overview of High-Frequency Trading, please review this Investopedia article. 
    
    Example:  
    An HFT trader places a series of buy orders within milliseconds, causing the price of a market to rise artificially. Other traders, observing the sudden surge, may be misled into buying at inflated prices, leading to potential losses when the market corrects itself. An HFT trader also executes a large number of rapid-fire trades within milliseconds, causing rapid price swings in a particular asset. The increased volatility and unpredictability make it difficult for other market participants to accurately assess market conditions and plan their trading strategies.
     
• Account Sharing/Device Sharing
   
  • Account sharing refers to the unauthorized practice of sharing or reselling FCT accounts with other individuals or entities. Sharing devices with other traders is strictly prohibited, regardless of the relationship. This behavior violates FCT's Terms of Service and is strictly prohibited. A zero-tolerance stance towards account sharing or device sharing is maintained due to several reasons related to security, fairness, and compliance.