Banned Strategies at Crypto Prop Firms (and the Rules Nobody Reads)
Updated · 2 min read
Every crypto prop firm bans hedging across accounts, account sharing, latency arbitrage and exploiting demo pricing. Beyond that, rules vary. Some ban bots (Klein) while others allow them (Propr), some require minimum hold times (Klein's 50 seconds), and some cap exposure to low-cap coins (HyroTrader's 5%) or daily profit (Crypto Fund Trader's $10,000). Breaking these usually means termination and a voided payout.
- Universal bans: cross-account or cross-firm hedging, account sharing, group or copy trading between people, latency arb, HFT, platform exploits.
- Bots: allowed at Propr and Mubite, allowed via a paid API option at Upscale, banned at Klein.
- Hidden rules: minimum hold time, low-cap exposure caps, per-trade risk caps, daily profit caps, position-size caps.
- Detection uses IP and device fingerprinting, correlation analysis and trade-pattern checks.
Rules at a glance
| Rule | Where it applies |
|---|---|
| Hedging across your own accounts | Banned everywhere |
| Hedging via an external exchange | Explicitly banned at Propr |
| Bots / EAs | Allowed: Propr, Mubite; API add-on: Upscale; banned: Klein |
| Copy trading | Allowed between own accounts: Propr, MyFundedPerps; banned even between own accounts: Klein |
| Minimum hold time | Klein (Bybit): every trade ≥ 50 seconds |
| Low-cap coin exposure | HyroTrader: ≤ 5% of initial balance in coins under $100M market cap or in Bybit's Innovation Zone |
| Max risk per trade | Mubite: 3% loss per trade; CFT: ≤ 2% risk to qualify for resets |
| Profit caps | Crypto Fund Trader: $10,000 simulated profit per day or per trade |
| Position caps | Mubite funded: 2x balance per trade, 3x total; MyFundedPerps: per-market exposure caps |
| Only USDT perps | Bybit-based firms (Klein, CFT): spot, USDC pairs and options breach the account |
| One evaluation at a time | Klein: trading two evaluations at once breaches both |
Why firms ban these
Simulated accounts can be gamed in ways real markets can't. Hedging two accounts guarantees one passes. Latency arbitrage exploits the delay between the firm's price feed and the real market. Demo engines fill large orders without slippage. Firms that copy traders into real markets (A-book) also need strategies that survive real execution, which is why HyroTrader may count only 40% of profit from trades with unrealistic demo fills.
Frequently asked questions
Can I trade news at crypto prop firms?
Almost always, yes. Crypto trades 24/7 and most firms allow news and weekend holding. Some multi-asset programs restrict news on specific products.
Can I use the same strategy on two prop firms?
Running the same strategy is fine. Opening opposite positions to hedge between firms is banned.
Sources
- Propr — Trading rules
- Klein Funding FAQ
- HyroTrader FAQ
- Crypto Fund Trader FAQ
- Upscale FAQ
- MyFundedPerps Docs — Challenges and rules
- Mubite — Challenge rules
Educational content, not financial advice. Perps and prop evaluations are high-risk; firm rules change, so check each firm's current terms.