A swing-trader's firm: balance-based drawdown (floating losses don't breach you), no daily loss cap on the 1-Step, news/weekend holding and even martingale allowed, and a split that climbs to 100% + a salary. The traps are the 60-second mandatory stop-loss, a first-payout bar much higher than the pass bar, and low leverage (1:10 on Instant).
Genuinely swing-friendly — balance-based drawdown, no daily cap on the 1-Step, and a path to 100% + salary — but mind the 60-second stop-loss rule and the much higher first-payout bar.
Pros
Balance-based drawdown: only closed P&L moves the line, floating losses don't breach you
1-Step has NO daily loss cap; news, overnight and weekend holding all allowed
Split climbs 80% → 90% → 100% (+ monthly salary at the top VIP tier)
Martingale and grid explicitly allowed; third-party EAs allowed on the 1-Step
Watch out
Mandatory stop-loss within 60 seconds of every trade — no-SL positions auto-close
First payout needs 7 profitable days (vs 3 to pass); Instant needs 10% profit first
Low leverage: 1:30 forex on challenges, only 1:10 on Instant
Best for: Swing and position traders who hold through news and weekends and want a balance-based drawdown with no daily cap — and who are disciplined about always setting a stop-loss.
Bottom line: One of the better homes for swing traders chasing a 100% split; just set every stop-loss inside 60 seconds and plan for the higher first-payout milestone.
Drawdown moves only on CLOSED profit and loss — floating/open losses never breach you. The 1-Step uses a 5% trailing line that stops moving once it reaches your starting balance (then it's effectively static at breakeven). The 2-Step uses a fixed 10% static max; Instant uses a 6% static max.
Gotcha: Because it's balance-based, you can be deep in floating loss intraday without breaching — but a single closed losing trade can move the line past the floor.
The 1-Step Challenge has NO daily loss cap — you can lose more than 5% intraday as long as your closed balance stays above the trailing line. The 2-Step Challenge has a 5% daily limit (balance-based). Instant accounts have no documented daily cap.
Gotcha: Only the 2-Step carries a daily limit — the headline 'no daily drawdown' is true for the 1-Step but not the 2-Step.
An 80% consistency score (largest single day vs total P&L) governs whether you can SCALE your balance — not whether you get paid. Below it, your profit share still climbs but the account balance won't grow; above it, you can scale.
Gotcha: Unlike most firms, consistency here is a scaling gate, not a payout trap — a big single day won't deny a withdrawal, it just blocks balance scaling.
EAs are fully allowed on the 1-Step — personal, commercial and third-party bots, with no proof of ownership required. Martingale and grid are explicitly allowed. Prohibited: copy trading from a signals marketplace, copying other traders' EAs, and renting/sharing your EA to other CTI traders.
Gotcha: Third-party EAs are welcome, but copy trading is banned — a subtle distinction that catches signal-followers.
Prohibited: HFT / mass data entry, latency arbitrage, open/close gap exploitation, copy trading via signal marketplaces, and EA renting/sharing. Martingale, grid and news trading are explicitly ALLOWED.
Gotcha: CTI is unusually permissive (martingale/grid OK) but draws a hard line at latency/gap exploitation and signal copying.
Challenges need 3 profitable trading days per phase (a profitable day = close ≥0.5% profit on initial balance). The FIRST payout needs more: 7 profitable days on Challenges, 5 on Instant — each requiring ≥2% or $100, whichever is higher.
Gotcha: The first-payout bar (7 profitable days) is more than double the pass bar (3) — easy to misread.
Place at least one trade every 30 days or the account is terminated. You can keep it alive with a small trade or request an account freeze of up to ~2 months.
Challenge split starts 80% and climbs to 90% (VIP Bronze) then 100% (VIP Silver+), with a monthly salary at Gold. Instant starts lower (50% → 70% → 80%). Challenge payouts begin monthly and accelerate to weekly then on-demand with VIP tier; Instant pays bi-weekly. Scaling reaches $2M per account / $4M across accounts. KYC required.
Gotcha: The advertised 100% split applies to Challenge/VIP progression — Instant entry is only a 50% split.
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Informational and comparison content only — not financial advice and not affiliated with City Traders Imperium. Rules change often; verify against City Traders Imperium's official terms before relying on any detail. Last reviewed Jun 5, 2026.
