Crypto Prop Firm Glossary: 40 Terms, One Sentence Each

By the PropRubric Research Team · Last verified: 28 October 2026

A crypto prop firm glossary is a list of the terms a firm’s rulebook, pricing page and payout terms use, each defined in one sentence with the number that goes with it. The 40 terms below are the ones that appear on PropRubric’s lists, reviews and rules pages, in the order a first challenge raises them: the product, the loss rules, the payout, the market, the access rules and the site’s own terms.

Each definition is followed by one sentence that links the page where the term is treated in full, so a term can be checked against the firms that apply it.

Which terms do crypto prop firm rules use?

Crypto prop firm rules use the 40 terms below, and every one of them is defined with the number a firm attaches to it where one exists.

Crypto prop firm: A crypto prop firm is a company that sells a paid challenge and gives the traders who pass it a funded crypto account and a share of the profits. The product is explained from purchase to payout on the page about what a crypto prop firm is, which also says where the money comes from.
Challenge (evaluation): A challenge is the paid evaluation a trader must pass, by reaching a profit target inside the loss limits, before the firm opens a funded account. The order in which the rules decide a pass is set out in the rules-first plan for passing a challenge, which names the firms’ own limits at each step.
One-step challenge: A one-step challenge is an evaluation with one phase and one profit target, after which the firm opens the funded account. Every firm’s single-phase model is compared on target, daily limit, maximum loss and price on the list of crypto prop firms selling one-step challenges, where the choice is between models rather than firms.
Instant funding: An instant funding account is a funded account sold without an evaluation, at a higher price per $10,000 of capital, in exchange for a lower or slower profit split, stricter drawdown or a payout cap. Every no-evaluation account is priced per $10,000 beside the rule it trades away on the list of crypto prop firms with instant funding, which ranks them by cost.
Profit target: A profit target is the gain, measured on the starting balance, that a challenge phase requires before it is passed, between 6% and 10% on the one-step models PropRubric tracks. The target sits beside the seven other rules in the table of every challenge rule across the firms, where each firm’s value carries its source.
Daily drawdown: Daily drawdown is the largest loss a crypto prop firm allows in one trading day, a percentage of a reference figure taken at the reset and breached when equity falls below it. Each firm’s daily limit, its reset time and the figure it is measured from are set out on the page about daily drawdown at crypto prop firms, which also explains why a 24/7 market needs a reset time.
Daily reset time: A daily reset time is the UTC moment at which a crypto prop firm starts a new trading day and takes the reference figure for the daily limit, 00:00 UTC at HyroTrader and 00:30 UTC at Breakout, whose rules, prices and payout terms are each dated and sourced to its own page. The reset time decides which trades count toward which day, and a position open across the reset is measured on both days.
Maximum drawdown: Maximum drawdown is the total loss a crypto prop account may suffer before the firm closes it, set as a floor below the starting balance and either static or trailing. The two floor types are worked through on the same equity path on the page about the floor type, which names each firm’s type.
Static drawdown: A static drawdown is a maximum-loss floor fixed at a dollar level below the starting balance that does not rise when the account makes money. The firms whose floor never moves are listed with the models it applies to on the list of static-drawdown crypto prop firms, where the trailing ones are set beside them.
Trailing drawdown: A trailing drawdown is a maximum-loss floor that moves up with the account’s highest balance or equity, so the floor follows your gains and never comes back down. Your own floor on any firm’s preset, trailing or static, is computed on the prop firm drawdown calculator, which also gives the dollars you can still lose today.
Balance vs equity: Balance is the account value with open positions left out, and equity is the balance plus the unrealised profit or loss of the open positions, so a limit measured on equity can be breached by an open trade. Every firm names the figure its limits are measured on in its rules, and the figure matters most on a trailing floor.
Per-trade loss cap: A per-trade loss cap is a rule that limits the loss on one position to a set percentage of the account, measured when the trade closes or while it runs. The firms that cap the loss on one trade are listed beside those that require a stop-loss order on the page about stop-loss and per-trade loss rules, with each cap’s source.
Stop-loss requirement: A stop-loss requirement obliges the trader to place a protective order on every position, usually within minutes of opening it, and it differs from a loss cap, which limits the loss itself. HyroTrader removed its stop-loss requirement in September 2026, and the dated change is recorded in the HyroTrader rules, fees and payouts, where the rules that replaced it are listed.
Consistency rule: A consistency rule caps the share of a profit figure, the total profit or the profit target, that may come from one trading day, between 15% and 50% at the firms that use one. The firms that use the rule and the ratio each one applies are listed on the page about best-day rules at crypto prop firms, which works the rule through with daily results.
Best-day share: The best-day share is the trader’s largest single-day profit divided by the total profit or the target, the figure a consistency rule compares with its cap. Your own best-day share against any firm’s cap is computed on the consistency rule calculator, which also gives the profit still needed to pass.
Minimum trading days: Minimum trading days are the number of days with at least one trade that a challenge phase must contain before it can be passed, 5 per phase at HyroTrader and 0 at the firms that set none. Velotrade counts only days that close at least 0.8% in profit, and that rule is set against HyroTrader’s day cap in the comparison of Velotrade vs HyroTrader, which shows how each one is passed.
Profit split: A profit split is the share of the simulated profit the firm pays the trader, 80% to 90% at most crypto prop firms, with the rest kept by the firm. The amount that reaches you after the split, the payout fee and the network fee is computed on the profit split calculator, which carries every firm’s split.
Payout cap: A payout cap is the largest amount a firm pays per request or per period, 5% of the initial balance per request at HyroTrader, with profit above the cap annulled when the account resets. The cap is one of the four things that decide what reaches your wallet on the page about the payout process from request to wallet, which follows a payout from request to transfer.
Payout proof: Payout proof is a public record that a firm paid a trader, a blockchain transaction ID or a payout feed, which proves that the payout was made and not that the account traded real capital. Every firm’s payout coin, network, speed and public proof are compared on the list of prop firms that pay out in crypto, where the fastest stated payout is under three seconds.
Funding rail: A funding rail is the coin and network a firm pays on, USDT or USDC on Ethereum, Tron, Solana or Arbitrum among the firms that pay in crypto, and it decides the network fee and the wallet you need. Velotrade pays weekly in USDC or USDT on Arbitrum, and the rail is recorded with its source in the Velotrade review, beside the firm’s payout proof.
Daily payout: A daily payout means you can submit a payout request on any day once your funded account is eligible, with no fixed cycle between requests. The firms that pay on any day are compared on their first-payout wait and minimum on the list of daily-payout crypto prop firms, which separates on-demand from one-per-day.
Simulated capital: Simulated capital is a prop firm account balance that trades at real market prices on the firm’s own system, while the firm pays real money for a share of the simulated profits. What a simulated account means for the payout is explained from the firms’ own terms on the page about simulated vs real capital, which quotes each firm’s wording.
Perpetual futures: Perpetual futures are contracts quoted in USDT or USDC that never expire and charge a funding rate between longs and shorts while a position is open, the instrument most crypto prop accounts trade. The firms whose accounts trade perpetuals are ranked by published pairs, venue, BTC leverage and fee on the list of perpetual-futures prop firms, with the CFD firms set apart.
CFD: A CFD is a contract quoted by the platform against the US dollar that tracks a coin’s price and charges an overnight swap, the crypto instrument at forex-first prop firms. The forex-first firms are compared on the crypto pairs, leverage and weekend rules of their CFD accounts on the list of forex prop firms that allow crypto, which reads the crypto offer apart from the forex one.
Spot trading: Spot trading means owning the coin, and no crypto prop firm offers it because a simulated margin account cannot take delivery of Bitcoin. The reason is set out beside what each firm sells instead on the page about why no crypto prop firm offers spot, which names every firm’s perpetual or CFD account.
Leverage and margin: Leverage sets the largest position a given margin opens, so $1,000 of margin opens a $100,000 position at 1:100, and margin is the inverse, 1% of the position at 1:100. Each firm’s maximum crypto leverage is listed per pair beside the position limits that make it usable on the list of crypto prop firms ranked by leverage, which ranks the firms by it.
Exchange-connected: An exchange-connected prop account takes its prices, and sometimes its order interface, from a real exchange such as Bybit, while the capital at risk stays the firm’s simulated balance. The firms that connect to Bybit are ranked by how deep the connection goes, from your own demo account to Bybit data only, on the list of crypto prop firms that use Bybit, which names the account each one trades.
On-chain: A prop firm is on-chain when some part of its product leaves a public blockchain record you can verify yourself, the routing of trades, the payment of payouts, or neither, in which case the word is branding. The firms that route orders to Hyperliquid or pay by smart contract are compared on what runs on chain on the list of crypto prop firms with on-chain trading and payouts, which sorts the three meanings apart.
KYC: KYC, know your customer, is the identity check a firm runs against a government ID, a live selfie and sometimes a proof of address, placed at purchase, at funding or at the first payout. The stage at which each firm checks identity is set out firm by firm on the page about whether crypto prop firms require KYC, which quotes each firm’s own wording.
No-KYC: No-KYC at a crypto prop firm means no identity check to buy and trade the challenge, and it does not mean no identity check before money leaves the firm. Every firm is placed by the stage of its check, from purchase to the first payout, on the list of crypto prop firms with no identity check to buy, which names the two firms that verify before purchase.
Restricted country: A restricted country is a country whose residents the firm will not sell to or pay, as named in its terms, its help centre or its checkout, and every firm excludes countries under US, EU or UN sanctions. Each country’s accepted and excluded firms are read from the firms’ own lists on the page about crypto prop firms that accept your country, which also names the firm that excludes the UK, Canada and India.
Reset: A reset restarts a failed challenge for a fee, usually below the original price, and PropRubric’s cost tables add one reset to every fee because most traders fail at least once. Every challenge fee is ranked per $10,000 of funding with one reset added on the list of cheap crypto prop firms, which separates the sticker price from the real cost.
Refund: A refund returns the challenge fee once the trader reaches a payout, with the first payout at HyroTrader and with the third at Bitfunded, and most firms refund nothing. Bitfunded’s refund with the third payout is recorded with its source in the Bitfunded rulebook with every source, beside the fee it applies to.
Weekend holding: Weekend holding is keeping a trade open from the last hour of Friday into the following week on a simulated account whose rules keep running while the crypto market stays open. Every firm’s weekend rule is quoted from its own terms, evaluation and funded accounts apart, on the page about holding crypto over the weekend at a prop firm, which names the firms that attach a condition.
Rule change and correction: A rule change is a firm changing a value it publishes, and a PropRubric correction is PropRubric having recorded a value the firm never published; the log labels every row as one or the other. Each row carries the old value, the new value, the firm’s own source page and the date it was read in the log of dated rule changes at every firm, where every month has its own page.
PropRubric score: A PropRubric score is the average of five equal criteria, rule leniency, total cost, payout terms, transparency and who can join, each read from the firm’s own terms and scored out of 10. The criteria and the evidence rule behind every value are set out on the page about how PropRubric verifies, which also gives the re-check cadence.
Affiliate link: An affiliate link is a Visit link that earns PropRubric a commission when a trader buys through it, marked as sponsored, and a commission never changes a value, a score or a ranking. Every firm with an agreement is named on the page about the affiliate disclosure, which states the rule that keeps commissions out of the ranking.
Discount code: A discount code is a code PropRubric holds from a firm that takes a stated percentage off the firm’s list price at checkout, and PropRubric publishes no code it does not hold. Every code PropRubric holds is listed with what it takes off and the day its terms were last read on the page of PropRubric's code pages, which separates discount codes from referral codes.
Free challenge: A free challenge is free to enter, and only a free challenge with payout rights can turn into money, while a free trial is a demo and a competition pays a prize to the top ranks. Every free challenge, trial and competition is ranked by whether it can lead to a payout on the list of free crypto prop challenges, which names the one free offer that can.
TradingView: A firm that uses TradingView either lets you place orders from TradingView itself or shows TradingView’s charts inside its own terminal, and only the first type connects your account to TradingView’s order panel. The firms that issue TradingView logins are set apart from those that only mirror its charts on the list of TradingView crypto prop firms, which names the two that do.

How is each term checked?

Each term’s definition restates the definition on the page it links, and every number in it, from a 5% payout cap to a 0.8% qualifying day, is a value PropRubric read on the firm’s own page and recorded with the date.

A term whose number changes at a firm is updated on the linked page first, and the log of that change is kept with its source, so the glossary never carries a value the rest of the site has dropped.

The other explainers on how crypto prop firms work sit on the Learn section, in the order a first challenge raises them.