QATS BLOG
Prop trading guides for crypto and TradFi traders
Clear explanations of prop firm rules, drawdown, payouts and automation — with worked examples and honest comparisons. Written by the team behind QATS Prop.
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FeaturedChoosing a prop firmBest Crypto Prop Firms in 2026: An Honest ComparisonWhat separates a good crypto prop firm from a marketing page: execution venue, drawdown model, payout rules and whether your bots are welcome.5 min readRead the guide
Passing & riskHow to Pass a Prop Firm Challenge: A Practical PlanMost traders fail evaluations on risk arithmetic, not on market calls. Here is a plan that starts from the rules and works backwards.3 min readRead guide Rules explainedProp Firm Drawdown Explained: Daily Loss, Trailing and StaticThe same “6% max loss” can mean three very different rules. Learn to read a drawdown before it reads you.3 min readRead guide Bots & TradingViewProp Firms That Allow Bots, EAs and API Trading (2026)Automation policies range from “fully supported” to “instant breach”. Here is how to tell them apart before you buy.4 min readRead guide Bots & TradingViewTradingView Prop Firm Trading: Alerts, Webhooks and PineMost traders already plan on TradingView. Here are the three ways to turn that chart into orders on a prop account.3 min readRead guide Rules explainedProp Firm Payouts and Profit Split: How They Really WorkA headline split is only the first number. Eligibility, caps and timing decide what reaches your wallet.3 min readRead guide Crypto marketsPerpetual Futures and Funding Rates for Prop TradersPerpetuals are the main crypto market. Here is what changes when you trade them on a prop account.3 min readRead guide Passing & riskRisk Management on a Funded Account: Position Sizing That LastsPassing proves you can hit a target. Keeping a funded account proves you can avoid the floor.3 min readRead guide Choosing a prop firm1-Step vs 2-Step Prop Firm Challenges: Which Should You Choose?Fewer phases means faster funding — and usually tighter rules. Here is how the trade-off works.3 min readRead guide Rules explainedProp Firm Consistency Rules Explained (With Examples)Consistency rules stop one lucky day from passing an evaluation. Here is the arithmetic and how to plan around it.2 min readRead guide Crypto marketsCrypto Prop Firm vs Forex Prop Firm: What Really DiffersMany “crypto” prop accounts are forex accounts with a few coin CFDs. Here is how to tell.3 min readRead guide Choosing a prop firmMonthly vs One-Time Prop Challenge Fees: The Real CostThe cheapest challenge is the one you pass. Here is how to compare fees across resets and pricing models.2 min readRead guide Prop trading basicsWhat Is a Prop Firm? How Evaluations and Funded Accounts WorkA plain-English guide to proprietary trading firms: the evaluation, the funded account, the profit split and what is simulated.6 min readRead guide Prop trading basicsHow Do Prop Firms Make Money? Fees, Profit Share and RulesAn honest look at where prop firm revenue comes from, why the rules look the way they do, and what that means for you.6 min readRead guide Prop trading basicsAre Prop Firms Legit? How to Vet a Prop Firm Before You PayMost questions about legitimacy can be answered from documents a good firm publishes. Here is the checklist and the red flags.6 min readRead guide Choosing a prop firmBest Prop Firm for Beginners: How to Choose on the RulesThere is no single best prop firm for beginners, but some rules make learning cheaper and safer. Here is what to look for.7 min readRead guide Rules explainedProp Firm News Trading Rules: Blackouts, CPI and FOMCMany prop firms limit trading around major economic releases. Here is how those rules work, why they exist and how to handle CPI and FOMC days either way.6 min readRead guide Rules explainedProp Firm Weekend Holding Rules: Crypto 24/7 vs CFD ClosesWhether you may hold over the weekend depends on what you trade and where. Here is how the rules differ, and how to size for the weekend either way.5 min readRead guide Rules explainedProp Firm Hedging and Copy Trading Rules: What Is AllowedHedging and copy trading are allowed in some forms and banned in others. The line usually runs between managing your own risk and gaming the evaluation.6 min readRead guide Passing & riskWhy Do Traders Fail Prop Firm Challenges? Seven Fixable MistakesFailed evaluations tend to follow a handful of repeatable mistakes. Each one has a practical fix you can apply before your next attempt.6 min readRead guide Crypto marketsBitcoin Prop Firm Guide: How to Trade BTC Perpetuals on a Prop AccountHow to trade the BTCUSDT perpetual on a prop account: what the leverage tier really controls, how to size from volatility and what funding costs you.6 min readRead guide Crypto marketsAltcoin Prop Firm Guide: Trading SOL, XRP, DOGE and HYPE PerpetualsAltcoins move further than bitcoin, with thinner books, lower leverage caps and a habit of falling together; here is how to trade them inside prop rules.6 min readRead guide Crypto marketsGold Prop Firm Guide: Trading Gold and Silver PerpetualsHow gold and silver perpetuals work on a prop account, when they move, and how to size them inside TradFi evaluation rules.5 min readRead guide Crypto marketsTrade Stocks With a Prop Firm: How Stock Perpetuals WorkStock perpetuals let you trade NVIDIA, Tesla or the S&P 500 long or short around the clock; here is how they differ from shares and CFDs and what to watch.5 min readRead guide Passing & riskScalping at a Crypto Prop Firm: Fees, Execution and Daily LimitsScalping lives or dies on costs and fills. Here is the arithmetic to run before you scalp a prop firm evaluation.6 min readRead guide Passing & riskSwing Trading at a Prop Firm: Drawdown, Weekends and Funding CostsHolding for days changes which rules matter. Drawdown style, weekend exposure and carrying costs decide whether a swing account survives.6 min readRead guide Passing & riskTrading Journal for Prop Traders: What to Log and How to ReviewA journal turns a breached account into a lesson and a passed one into a process you can repeat.5 min readRead guide Rules explainedProp Firm Leverage Explained: Why Size, Not Leverage, Sets Your RiskLeverage decides how much margin a position ties up. Your size and your stop decide what it can lose.6 min readRead guide Prop trading basicsAre Prop Firm Funded Accounts Real Money? Simulated vs Live ExplainedMost funded accounts trade simulated balances, yet the payouts are real payments. Here is how the two fit together, and where live capital starts.6 min readRead guide Rules explainedProp Firm Reset Explained: What Happens After a BreachA reset turns a breached challenge into a fresh attempt. The price, the timing and your state of mind decide whether it is worth it.5 min readRead guide Prop trading basicsProp Firm KYC: Identity Verification Before Your First PayoutVerification is the step between an eligible payout and money in your account. Doing it early is the simplest way to avoid delays.5 min readRead guide Bots & TradingViewBybit and Binance Prop Trading: Exchange Data, Bybit Demo and Live AccountsExchange names appear on many prop firm pages. Here is what a “Bybit prop firm” can actually mean, and how each route works on QATS.5 min readRead guide Choosing a prop firmProp Firms That Pay in USDT: Crypto Payout Methods ComparedMany crypto prop firms pay in stablecoins, but the coin is the easy part: network, fees, minimums and verification decide whether a payout arrives smoothly.7 min readRead guide Choosing a prop firmCheapest Crypto Prop Firm? How to Compare the Real Cost of Getting FundedThe cheapest prop challenge is the one that gets you funded for the least total spend, and the sticker price is only one part of that.6 min readRead guide Choosing a prop firmInstant Funding Prop Firm vs Evaluation: Price, Rules and PayoutsAn instant account skips the test but usually charges for it, in price, rules or payout timing. Here is how to weigh the trade.6 min readRead guide Prop trading basicsCrypto Prop Firm Free Trial: Practise on the QATS Sandbox FirstA free trial is most useful as a rehearsal of the rules. Here is what the QATS sandbox offers and a method for testing a strategy against a trailing floor.6 min readRead guide Bots & TradingViewTradingView Webhook JSON Alert Messages: The Exact QATS FormatEvery field QATS reads from a TradingView alert, with copy-ready messages for entries, exits and protection, and the fixes for common refusals.7 min readRead guide Bots & TradingViewPython Crypto Trading Bot API: Build a Prop Firm Bot on the QATS Trader APIA step-by-step Python walk-through of the QATS Trader API, from a free sandbox key to a first order, with the risk checks that still apply.6 min readRead guide Bots & TradingViewGrid Bot Prop Firm Guide: How Grid and DCA Bots Meet Loss LimitsGrid and DCA bots often win small and frequently, then can give much of it back in one move. Here is how that shape meets prop firm loss limits.6 min readRead guide Rules explainedProp Firm Stop Loss Rules: Mandatory Stops and Why They MatterSome firms make a stop mandatory and many leave it to you, but every firm’s loss limits punish a trade that has none.6 min readRead guide Rules explainedProp Firm Prohibited Strategies: Martingale, Grid, HFT and MoreMany prohibited strategies exploit the simulation, remove risk or replace the trader. Knowing which is which keeps a passed account payable.7 min readRead guide Rules explainedHow Is Daily Drawdown Calculated? Balance, Equity and Reset TimesDaily drawdown depends on three choices: the baseline, what counts against it, and when the day resets.6 min readRead guide Crypto marketsIsolated vs Cross Margin: Exchange Margin Modes and Prop AccountsMargin modes decide how much of an exchange wallet one position can lose; on a prop account the loss limits decide it instead.6 min readRead guide Crypto marketsLiquidation Price Calculation for Perpetual Futures: Formulas and ExamplesA simplified way to estimate where an exchange closes a leveraged perpetual, and why a prop account’s floor is the number to plan around.5 min readRead guide Crypto marketsBest Time to Trade Crypto: Sessions, Weekends, Funding and Macro ReleasesCrypto trades around the clock, but liquidity, funding and news follow a schedule you can plan around.5 min readRead guide Crypto marketsHyperliquid Prop Firm or Your Own Wallet? Capital, Fees, Rules and PayoutsTrading Hyperliquid from your own wallet and taking a prop evaluation put different money at risk under different rules.5 min readRead guide Passing & riskHow Long Does It Take to Pass a Prop Firm Challenge? Minimum vs RealisticThe rules set a minimum of a few days; your sustainable daily return sets the real timeline, and a monthly plan puts a price on every extra month.6 min readRead guide Passing & riskFailed Prop Firm Challenge? Review, Reset or Pause: What to Do NextA breach is expensive information. Read it, review it and choose the next attempt deliberately rather than on the same evening.6 min readRead guide Passing & riskProp Firm Trading Plan Template: A Copyable Plan With a Filled ExampleA one-page plan that turns the firm’s rules into your own tighter limits, filled in for a QATS Crypto evaluation.6 min readRead guide
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How QATS compares
Published rules of popular crypto and forex prop firms next to ours, with sources and the date we checked.
Crypto-nativeQATS vs HyroTraderCrypto-only prop firm on Bybit and BloFin demo accounts, with API bots allowed.Bots / APIAllowedCompare rules Crypto-native (Kraken-owned)QATS vs BreakoutKraken-owned crypto prop firm with 1-step Classic, Pro and Turbo evaluations.Bots / APINo official policy foundCompare rules Crypto-focused, multi-platformQATS vs Crypto Fund TraderCrypto prop firm on MT5, Match-Trader and Bybit with many challenge types.Bots / APIEAs allowedCompare rules Crypto-focusedQATS vs BitFundedCrypto prop firm with static drawdown and USDT payouts — manual trading only.Bots / APIBannedCompare rules Forex & CFDsQATS vs Hola PrimeMulti-platform forex and CFD prop firm with fast payouts and low crypto leverage.Bots / APIEAs allowedCompare rules Forex & CFDsQATS vs FTMOThe best-known forex prop firm — crypto is offered as CFDs on MetaTrader and cTrader.Bots / APIEAs allowedCompare rules Forex & CFDsQATS vs FundedNextLarge forex and CFD prop firm with Stellar challenges — crypto at 1:1 leverage.Bots / APIEAs allowedCompare rules Forex & CFDsQATS vs The5ersForex prop firm with High Stakes and Hyper Growth programs and split scaling to 100%.Bots / APIEAs reportedly allowedCompare rules