Everything, answered plainly.

18th Street Trading is a futures proprietary trading firm built around professional standards, disciplined risk management, and earned progression. Every trader begins through the same public qualification. From there, performance becomes a professional record, and traders who consistently demonstrate the firm’s standards may be considered for private opportunities carrying greater responsibility.

18th Street is built for serious futures traders who approach trading as a profession. The firm is designed for individuals who value process over emotion, consistency over aggression, and responsible risk management over short-term outcomes. Experience matters, but the standard is ultimately demonstrated through the quality and consistency of the trading record built here.

18th Street is not designed for traders seeking shortcuts, oversized risk, or the fastest path to a payout. It is not an environment where larger accounts can simply be purchased. Traders unwilling to operate within defined risk parameters or demonstrate consistency over time are unlikely to find the firm’s structure aligned with how they trade.

18th Street Trading was inspired by Chicago’s South Loop, where our founder is originally from. South Prairie Avenue and East 18th Street gave the firm its name. What it represents goes further: professionalism, discipline, consistency, sound judgment, and trust earned over time. The location is where the name began. The standard carried under it gives the name meaning.

18th Street is built around one beginning and earned progression. Larger capital allocations are not publicly available for purchase or automatically unlocked. Traders establish a professional record within the firm, and every invitation to pursue a larger allocation is personally reviewed by the Founder. Progression reflects demonstrated trust, not purchasing power or a predetermined formula.

There is one publicly available assessment: the $50,000 Qualification. Every trader begins there. The $100,000 Institutional Qualification and $150,000 Capital Partner Qualification exist only within the firm’s private progression pathway and are available exclusively by invitation to traders whose professional record earns consideration.

After successfully completing the assessment, you must complete KYC, execute the Trader Agreement, and pay the applicable $149 Activation Fee. Once approved, you receive a $50,000 funded account, typically within 24–48 hours. From that point forward, your performance continues building the professional record used to evaluate future progression.

Yes. All 18th Street Trading Assessments and funded accounts operate in a simulated trading environment. This includes the $50,000 public Assessment, the $50,000 Funded Trader account, and the invitation-only $100,000 Institutional Trader and $150,000 Capital Partner accounts. Account progression reflects increased responsibility, stricter expectations, and larger simulated allocations within the firm’s framework. It does not represent a transition to live market execution.

No. The $50,000 Assessment does not impose a maximum completion period. Traders must satisfy all published requirements, including the minimum trading-day requirement, but there is no incentive to rush. The objective is to demonstrate that the standard can be met through disciplined, consistent trading.

A breached Assessment is terminated and cannot continue trading. If you choose to make another attempt, a new Assessment must be purchased and started from the beginning. Previous performance does not carry forward. Each new attempt is evaluated independently under the same published standards.

18th Street Trading supports approved futures products available through the firm’s trading infrastructure. Only front-month contracts may be traded. Trading out-month contracts is prohibited and may result in account termination. Available products and their applicable contract limits are defined within the firm’s published trading specifications.

No. 18th Street is structured around intraday futures trading. All positions must be closed before the applicable market close, and positions may not be carried overnight or through the weekend. Traders are responsible for managing open positions and ensuring they are flat within the firm’s required trading hours.

Yes, with one restriction. A position opened before a scheduled high-impact release may be carried through it, and pre-defined stops triggering during the event window are not a violation. What is not permitted is opening a new position within three minutes either side of a red-folder release. The restriction exists to prevent binary bets on the print, not to keep traders out of the market around it. All other risk parameters remain in effect regardless of market conditions.

No single trading day may account for more than 33.33% of the total profits required to meet the applicable objective. The requirement is designed to demonstrate that performance has been established across multiple trading sessions rather than concentrated in one exceptional day.

Accounts use a 3% end-of-day trailing loss based on the applicable account size. The threshold adjusts according to qualifying end-of-day account performance rather than intraday fluctuations. Traders are expected to understand and continuously respect this risk boundary; breaching the applicable loss threshold results in account termination.

The non-withdrawable buffer is the minimum amount of gains that must remain in a Funded Account and cannot be included in a payout request. It exists to preserve required account equity after distributions and maintain the account’s risk structure. Only gains above the applicable buffer may become eligible for withdrawal, subject to all other payout requirements.

Eligible Funded Account gains are subject to an 80% trader split, meaning the trader receives 80% of gains approved for payout and the remaining 20% is retained by the firm. Assessment gains are not withdrawable. The split applies only after funded status has been achieved and all applicable payout requirements have been satisfied.

Payout eligibility begins after you receive a Funded Account and generate eligible gains within that account. Before a payout can be approved, the account must satisfy the 33.33% consistency requirement, maintain the required non-withdrawable buffer, remain active and in good standing, and successfully complete the applicable payout review.

All 18th Street Trading Funded Accounts operate in a simulated trading environment. This includes the $50,000 Funded Trader account and the invitation-only $100,000 Institutional Trader and $150,000 Capital Partner accounts. Progression within the firm reflects increased responsibility, larger simulated account allocations, and higher professional expectations. It does not represent a transition to live market execution.

A breach terminates the affected Funded Account, and withdrawals cannot be requested from a breached account under the standard funded structure. Because payout treatment can differ by account stage and plan configuration, the applicable Trader Agreement and published account rules govern any gains remaining at the time of a breach.

Every trader begins with the same $50,000 public qualification. From there, performance develops into a professional record. Traders who consistently demonstrate disciplined execution, responsible risk management, sound judgment, and professional conduct may be considered for private qualification opportunities leading to larger capital allocations.

No. The $100,000 Institutional and $150,000 Capital Partner programs are not available for public purchase. Access begins only through private invitation. If invited, the trader earns the opportunity to enter the applicable qualification, not the larger allocation itself. That allocation must still be earned by successfully meeting the qualification standards.

Every invitation is personally reviewed by 18th Street Trading’s Founder. Advancement is not triggered automatically by a payout, profit threshold, or algorithm. The trader’s complete professional record is considered, including consistency, risk management, decision making, and conduct over time. An invitation reflects the firm’s judgment that greater responsibility has been earned.

No. Progression is never guaranteed. Meeting individual performance metrics, receiving payouts, or maintaining an account for a particular period does not create an entitlement to advancement. Private invitations are extended only when the trader’s overall body of work demonstrates the standard the firm expects at the next level of responsibility.

Nothing changes about your current standing solely because an invitation has not been extended. Continue trading, managing risk, and building your professional record at your existing level. There is no required timeline for progression. The objective is not to reach the next allocation as quickly as possible; it is to build the body of work that makes greater responsibility appropriate.

18th Street Trading supports DXFutures, Volumetrica, and Rithmic. Rithmic traders may use R|Trader Pro or the supported ATAS front end. Other Rithmic-compatible platforms, including Quantower, may also function, but compatibility is not guaranteed and 18th Street Trading does not provide support for unsupported third-party front ends.

18th Street Trading officially supports DXFutures, Volumetrica, R|Trader Pro, and ATAS. If you trade through Rithmic, other third-party front ends may also work with your login, but compatibility is not guaranteed and support is not provided for those platforms. Quantower is known to work for many Rithmic users, but it remains an unsupported third-party option.

CME requires traders receiving its market data to declare whether they qualify as Professional or Non-Professional subscribers. Traders must complete the applicable attestation before receiving market data. 18th Street Trading currently supports participants who qualify as Non-Professional subscribers under CME requirements.

Participation is available only in jurisdictions permitted under the firm’s applicable eligibility requirements. Individuals located in countries or territories subject to applicable OFAC restrictions are not eligible. Additional geographic restrictions may apply based on regulatory, technology-provider, or compliance requirements.

You must be at least 18 years old to participate in an 18th Street Trading qualification or maintain an account with the firm. All traders must also satisfy the applicable identity-verification, KYC, eligibility, and Trader Agreement requirements before receiving a Funded Account.

Charges associated with your 18th Street Trading account will appear on your bank or card statement as dashboardanalytix.com. This is the billing descriptor used by our technology and payment infrastructure. The descriptor may not display the 18th Street Trading name, so traders should recognize dashboardanalytix.com as an authorized charge associated with their account.

The Qualification fee depends on the trading platform you select: $149 on DXFutures, $171 on Volumetrica, and $201 on Rithmic. The difference reflects the licensing cost of each platform. The account itself is identical in every respect — same $50,000 allocation, same equity growth target, same trailing loss, same consistency requirement, and same contract limits. The fee is paid once before the Assessment begins and is not a monthly subscription. If the Assessment is breached and you choose to make another attempt, a new Qualification must be purchased under the applicable terms.

Yes. After successfully completing a Qualification, a separate $149 Activation Fee is required before the corresponding account is activated for trading. It is $149 on every platform and at every account size. The Qualification fee pays for the opportunity to complete the Assessment; the Activation Fee applies only after successful completion and before trading begins at the newly earned account level.

Yes. If invited, the $100,000 Institutional Qualification and the $150,000 Capital Partner Qualification carry their own fees, which vary by platform in the same proportion as the public Qualification. On DXFutures these are $297 and $446 respectively. These fees are paid only after receiving the applicable private invitation and before beginning that Qualification. Successfully completing either Qualification also requires the separate $149 Activation Fee before the new account is activated.

No. Larger capital allocations cannot be purchased directly. Paying the applicable Qualification fee is possible only after the firm has extended a private invitation. The fee provides the opportunity to qualify for the next allocation; it does not purchase advancement, guarantee successful qualification, or bypass the firm’s progression process.

No. 18th Street Trading’s Qualification structure does not use a recurring monthly subscription. The applicable Qualification fee is paid once before beginning an Assessment, and the Activation Fee is paid only after successfully completing that Qualification and before the corresponding account is activated. Additional fees may apply only where separately disclosed under the applicable account terms.