Earn2Trade and Tradeify Remove Minimum Trading Days as Industry Rule Shift Accelerates

## What happened

Multiple prop trading firms across both the futures and forex sectors have initiated significant structural changes to their evaluation models, removing time constraints while simultaneously altering payout consistency limits and drawdown mechanics.

According to official updates from [Earn2Trade](/firms/earn2trade), the firm has permanently removed the minimum trading-day requirement for its flagship Trader Career Path evaluation accounts. Under the updated terms, traders who achieve the profit target without violating daily or maximum trailing drawdown limits can advance to a funded account immediately, regardless of how few days it takes.

Concurrently, [Tradeify](/firms/tradeify) has overhauled its Lightning, Growth, and Select account tiers. Tradeify eliminated the end-of-day (EOD) trailing drawdown lock during the evaluation phase for its Growth and Select programs, deferring drawdown lock enforcement entirely to funded accounts. In addition, Tradeify introduced an instant-funding option and updated its payout consistency caps, implementing tiered consistency rules ranging between 20% and 30% for Lightning funded accounts based on approved payout milestones, while establishing a 35% consistency threshold on Growth Sim accounts.

In the forex sector, [Atlas Funded](/firms/atlas-funded) introduced account bundle pricing along with revised trading rules across its evaluation tiers, while [Finotive Funding](/firms/finotive-funding) expanded its instant-payout infrastructure, offering discounts up to 25% when purchasing accounts via its proprietary payment gateway.

``` +------------------+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ | Firm | Previous Evaluation Framework | Updated Evaluation Framework | +------------------+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ | Earn2Trade | 10-day minimum trading requirement | No minimum trading day requirement| | Tradeify | EOD drawdown lock in evaluation | Drawdown lock moved to funded phase| | Tradeify | Evaluation-only model | Added instant funding & 20-35% cap| | Finotive Funding | Standard payment gateways | Finotive Pay integration (25% off)| +------------------+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ ```

## Why it matters for traders

These simultaneous updates reflect a broader, structural realignment across the prop trading industry: firms are lowering barriers to entry in the evaluation phase while increasing risk controls and payout conditions in the funded phase.

For active traders, the removal of minimum trading days significantly reduces the capital cost and duration required to obtain a funded account. Historically, minimum trading-day rules (typically ranging from 5 to 10 days) forced disciplined traders who hit profit targets early to trade small lot sizes or execute micro-trades simply to satisfy calendar criteria. This requirement frequently induced overtrading or rule violations late in an evaluation cycle.

However, the relaxation of evaluation constraints comes with tighter backend parameters once capital is allocated:

1. **Payout Consistency Caps:** Tradeify's implementation of 20% to 30% consistency rules on funded accounts means no single trading day can account for more than a specific percentage of total accumulated profits at the time of a payout request. A trader who earns $5,000 total but generated $2,000 on a single high-volatility day (40% of total profit) will have their payout request delayed or capped until additional trading days normalize the distribution. 2. **Deferred Drawdown Mechanics:** Moving drawdown locks from evaluation to funded accounts changes when a trader's account equity floor becomes fixed. When drawdown locks are applied to evaluation accounts, traders face an escalating profit floor while trying to pass. Deferring the lock to the funded phase makes evaluations easier to pass, but concentrates execution pressure on maintaining funded status. 3. **Speed vs. Execution Risk:** Removing minimum time requirements encourages faster challenge completion, which can induce traders to take excessive leverage to pass in a single trading session.

Traders evaluating these rules must distinguish between conditions required to *pass* an account and conditions required to *withdraw* profits.

## How it compares to competing firms

The contrast in evaluation mechanics across major futures and forex prop firms highlights two distinct risk management philosophies currently operating in the market.

In the futures segment, [Topstep](/firms/topstep) maintains a strict end-of-day trailing drawdown model that locks at the initial starting balance once profits accrue, combined with daily loss limits and consistency rules during funded phases. [Apex Trader Funding](/firms/apex-trader-funding) utilizes real-time trailing drawdown (intraday) during evaluations, which trails equity high-water marks in real time rather than closing balance. Tradeify's move to eliminate evaluation drawdown locks positions its challenge phase closer to static drawdown models, contrasting sharply with Apex Trader Funding's intraday trailing framework.

In the forex and CFD segment, firms like [FTMO](/firms/ftmo) and [The 5%ers](/firms/the-5ers) rely primarily on two-step evaluation models with static maximum drawdown limits (typically 10%) and daily drawdown limits (typically 5%). While [FTMO](/firms/ftmo) maintains a minimum requirement of 4 trading days for its standard challenge, [The 5%ers](/firms/the-5ers) offers programs with no time limits but maintains strict scaling rules.

``` +----------------------+--------------------+---------------------+-----------------------+ | Firm | Minimum Days | Drawdown Type | Funded Consistency Cap| +----------------------+--------------------+---------------------+-----------------------+ | Earn2Trade | 0 Days | EOD Trailing | Custom Tiered Scaling | | Tradeify | 0 Days | EOD / Static Hybrid | 20% - 35% Payout Cap | | Topstep | 5 Days | EOD Trailing | Best-Day Rule Cap | | Apex Trader Funding | 7 Days | Real-Time Intraday | Payout Threshold Caps | | FTMO | 4 Days | Static Balance/Eq. | No Strict Cap (Scale) | | The 5%ers | 0 Days | Static Balance | Account Scaling Rules | +----------------------+--------------------+---------------------+-----------------------+ ```

Traders seeking to evaluate complete rule sets across these firms can compare specific parameters directly using [ProprietaryTrading.com's Compare Tool](/compare) or browse category-specific listings in the [Futures Prop Firms Directory](/directory/futures-prop-firms).

## What to watch next

The industry-wide shift toward friction-free evaluations accompanied by tighter payout governance signals several upcoming operational developments that traders should track:

1. **Broader Adoption of 0-Day Evaluations:** As [Earn2Trade](/firms/earn2trade) and [Tradeify](/firms/tradeify) normalize the elimination of minimum trading days, competing futures firms will likely face market pressure to adjust or remove their own minimum evaluation day requirements to maintain challenge volume. 2. **Standardization of Funded Consistency Rules:** Traders should monitor whether firms introduce retrospective consistency checks at the time of payout requests. It is increasingly critical to review the [Funded Trader Agreement](/glossary/funded-trader-agreement) for specific mathematical definitions of daily profit distribution before requesting payouts. 3. **Platform and Liquidity Transitions:** Watch for additional announcements regarding platform routing and broker integrations as high-velocity traders pass evaluations faster, increasing the balance of live-funded versus simulated accounts managed by prop firm risk desks.

Traders considering new evaluations can analyze model structures and search for verified programs using our [Evaluation-Based Directory](/directory/evaluation-based) and [Instant Funding Directory](/directory/instant-funding).