Funded Futures Network's New Live Tier Starts at $3,000 of Real Capital, and the Review Closes Your Sim Accounts

What happened

Funded Futures Network (FFN) has replaced its old live-account step with FFN Institution, a live program funded with the firm's own money. FFN announced it on 9 October as effective immediately, according to JoinProp's report of the announcement. FFN's own FAQ, which we checked on 11 October, now describes the live account this way:

• Promoted traders start with $3,000 of real FFN capital, which can never be withdrawn.
• The split is 90/10. You keep 90% of eligible live profit, and FFN's 10% "generally stays in your account as additional FFN capital."
• There is no consistency rule, and payouts are processed the same business day.
• Payouts must leave a Permanent Risk Buffer in place to keep the account open.
• Professional market data fees apply to Institution accounts only. The fee is listed as "TBD" and is paid from your Institution balance.

The firm's X account (@FFNFunding) had not posted about Institution as of our check. FFN has also put its help center behind a login: on 11 October the rule article the FAQ points to (Article 4.3) asked us to sign in.

How promotion works

These terms come from FFN's announcement as reported by JoinProp. We could not read them on a public FFN page.

The catches

Reaching the review closes your sim accounts, whatever the result. According to the announcement, your Sim Funded accounts close when the review begins, not when you are approved. The review starts on its own at your fourth payout from one account, and there is no opt-in. FFN lets you hold up to five Sim Funded accounts at once, so one account reaching its fourth payout can end all of them. Turn the promotion down and you get $1,000 and a fresh evaluation, not your old accounts back. Anyone running several funded accounts should count payouts before requesting a fourth.

"Live" now means $3,000. Until this week, FFN's help center (we checked it on 8 October for our Skip the Eval story) described live access as a risk-manager decision, with live accounts opening at the account size plus a buffer. Institution resets everyone to the same $3,000, however large their sim account was. The account grows mainly through FFN's 10% share, which stays in it. If that were the only source of growth, reaching the $5,000 Trader tier would take $20,000 of live profit. FFN also offers milestone allocations, but JoinProp's report does not say how large they are.

Small account, unknown costs. Market data is paid from the Institution balance, and FFN has not set the fee. An earlier version of FFN's help center FAQ put live professional data at $126 a month per exchange. A charge anywhere near that is a large share of a $3,000 account. The drawdown that applies after your first live payout is also unpublished, and the Permanent Risk Buffer rule sits in a help article you now have to log in to read.

FFN's own pages disagree. The FAQ describes the $3,000 Institution account. FFN's "Why FFN" page still says that once you withdraw $5,000 you can qualify for a Live Funded account with "no max withdrawal limits." It even gives an example: make $40,000 and withdraw 90% of it the same day. Its comparison table still lists "5 Separate Accounts" of multiple live funded accounts. Treat the FAQ and the actual review terms as the current rules, and get anything else in writing.

Bottom line

A published, rules-based path from simulation to real firm capital is rare in futures prop trading, and real money on the line is a real step. But FFN Institution is a small, discretionary seat: $3,000 to start, capital you can never withdraw, a data fee not yet set, and post-payout drawdown terms not yet public. The review is also automatic and wipes your sim accounts the moment it starts. If your sim accounts are your income, the fourth payout is now a decision point, not just a withdrawal.

Sources: Funded Futures Network FAQ and "Why FFN" page, checked 11 October 2026; FFN Help Center (Article 4.3, login-only as of 11 October; public when we checked it on 8 October); FFN's 9 October announcement as reported by JoinProp (10 October 2026). Terms can change; confirm with FFN before you request a payout that triggers a review.