Challenge fees may be deductible as a business expense in some jurisdictions.
Funded trading income may or may not qualify for capital gains treatment depending on how your country classifies trading activity.
Start with the guide, then confirm with a local tax professional:
Keeping records of your trading activity is a legal obligation in most jurisdictions, not optional.
Entry, exit, profit, platform, account type. Even if you're not sure how it's taxed, not having the records makes everything harder.
⚽ Football isn't about opinions.
It's about probabilities.
The market has its view.
The crowd has its view.
What's yours?
Predict the scores for the 5 upcoming matches.
🏆 $5,000 Account for each correct prediction
🏆 $25,000 Account for a perfect 5/5
Just like trading,
Funded trading income is taxable. Most funded traders haven't figured out how.
Is it self-employment income? Capital gains? Both? It depends on your jurisdiction.
We covered the key frameworks for US, UK, Australia, and Singapore — not advice, but a starting point before you
"We want you to succeed" is something every prop firm says.
Institutional hedging is the mechanism that makes that statement structurally true rather than just marketing.
In a standard prop firm model:
→ You pay a challenge fee
→ You pass or fail
→ If you breach funded, the firm absorbs no real loss — capital was simulated
→ The firm profits from fees, resets, and traders who don't reach payout
Your failure is good for their P&L.
This is why "we want you to succeed" means something different depending on the firm.
Some firms say it. Institutional hedging is the structure that makes it financially true.
Velotrade uses this model.
Topstep doesn't list crypto among its supported instruments.
If you trade BTC, ETH, or any crypto product, that ends the conversation — unless you're also open to futures markets.
Honest review of who Topstep works for and who should look elsewhere:
Topstep's challenge is called the Trading Combine.
No two-phase evaluation — you pass the Combine, you get funded.
The drawdown model is EOD trailing, which gives more flexibility than tick-by-tick for volatile sessions.