ブログ

summary

Instant Funding is one of the companies I have used the longest, since December 10, 2024. As of March 2026, my total payouts amount to approximately 51,000 USD — the second highest after Funded Next.

In August 2025, a payout was denied on the grounds of IP address sharing. This was not true, and I could not accept it, but the outcome was that the profit for that cycle was removed. (Details below.)

I did lose a significant amount of trust over this incident. However, I received about 20,000 USD in payouts before the issue and about 30,000 USD after — all without problems. I believe the incident was caused by a system error or a misunderstanding. If the company had acted in bad faith, I cannot imagine they would have continued to pay out 30,000 USD after the incident.

Support generally replies within an hour or a few hours, though during large‑scale promotions response times can stretch to 1–2 days. For individual issues like the IP address matter, resolution took even longer.

Timeline

December 10, 2024

I registered and purchased my first account on this day.

February 14, 2025 — Lot size violation

I received an email about a lot size rule violation. The rules had been updated after I purchased my challenge, and I assumed the changes would not apply to existing accounts. In reality, users were given the option to choose between the old and new rules, and if no selection was made, the new rules were applied automatically. Because of this misunderstanding, I ended up in violation. My profit was removed, but my account was allowed to continue.

March 12, 2025 — Request for Travel Documentation

I received an email stating there was a discrepancy in the IP address used for trading. However, I only ever trade from my home PC. This turned out to be a misunderstanding.

May 15, 2025 — Second lot violation

I received a second lot violation email. I was using MT5’s one‑click trading feature and accidentally placed a 2‑lot trade on Gold. I noticed immediately and closed it within 3 seconds. Unlike the first time, this was a genuine mistake rather than a misunderstanding of the rules — but it was still my second violation. They did not close my account and only removed the profit.

June 10, 2025 — Risk parameter adjustment

I received an email titled “Adjustment to Risk Parameters on Funded Accounts.” Because my trading behavior was deemed high‑risk, a restriction was placed on my funded accounts limiting risk to 1% per trade. At the time, I was trading with 1–2% risk per trade, once or twice a day. Since Instant Funding’s Step 1 type has a 3% daily loss limit, I could understand how 2% risk might be considered excessive. No other penalties — such as a reduction in profit split — were applied.

August 18, 2025 — IP address review and payout denial

I received a review titled “Important Notice: Account Activity Review,” stating that my account had been accessed from a different IP address multiple times and that payouts could not be processed. I disputed this, but the result was that the payout was denied while my funded accounts remained active.

I was very unhappy with this decision. When I looked into the IP address in question, it traced back to Pakistan. I had also received a similar email back in March about access from Pakistan, though nothing came of it at the time. So rather than Instant Funding deliberately denying my payout, could it be that someone in Pakistan gained unauthorized access to Instant Funding’s systems or my MT5 account credentials? I honestly do not have the technical knowledge to say for sure.

My conclusion

In any case, if Instant Funding’s intention were to unfairly deny profitable traders, they could have gotten rid of me long ago. I had two lot violations — they could have shut everything down at that point. Instead, both times they allowed my funded accounts to remain active.

I will continue using Instant Funding.

Summary

I purchased my first challenge on November 7, 2025, and as of March 2026, I have received approximately 4,500 USD in payouts. It has not been long, but so far my impression is that there are a few points of concern, though I have not been treated unfairly. Phase 1 challenges with a static maximum drawdown are uncommon, so I plan to continue using the service and form my judgment over time. I will of course keep updating here.

Timeline

November 5, 2025

I registered and asked several questions. I received a clear response in about 10 hours.

November 7, 2025 

I purchased my first challenge.

December 24, 2025

 I submitted my first payout request. It was approved 9 days later, on January 2, 2026. However, this period overlapped with Christmas and New Year, so in terms of business days, I don’t consider it particularly slow.

January 15, 2026

I submitted a payout request. I also submitted another on January 17. Both were approved within 2–3 business days. However, one account was flagged as “high risk of hedge,” and for another account the reason was unclear. In any case, I was told to document my trades on the dashboard for both of these accounts going forward.

February 11, 2026

A trade I placed on this day resulted in a violation on my funded account. There is a rule that you must not take on more than 50% of the maximum drawdown in risk on a single symbol. I was aware of this rule, but I had interpreted it as meaning a violation only occurs if you incur a loss exceeding 50%. In reality, the moment you enter a trade and set a 1% stop‑loss, you are already carrying 1% risk — and if you do this twice, you have taken on 2% risk regardless of the outcome. I contacted support and arrived at the above understanding, but please let me know if I have it wrong.

It is true that “taking on risk” and “incurring a loss” have clearly different meanings, so this was my misunderstanding. However, this rule is uncommon among other firms, so I failed to notice — perhaps partly because I am not a native English speaker.

I have only been using FundedElite for about four months. To summarize my experience so far: I was suspected of hedging — this was not true, but I understand it is partly an unavoidable aspect of automated systems, and my payouts were still processed. As a precaution, I was asked to record my strategy on the dashboard. This is something I can fully accept. I was also disqualified due to the somewhat complex rule described above. I found this slightly unfriendly, but I cannot say for certain since I don’t know how a native English speaker would perceive the wording.

In my case, payouts were processed in roughly 1–3 business days on average, which I feel is in line with the industry standard.

Support and overall service are also at an industry‑standard level. That said, the firm does have notable strengths: a plan that offers a free re‑challenge after disqualification, a static maximum drawdown even in Phase 1, and relatively low pricing. Also — and I hope this does not sound rude — the trading costs were surprisingly good, on par with Funding Pips. I personally record my trading costs based on the actual cost at the time of entry, not the displayed spread. Please keep in mind that trading costs can vary significantly depending on the time of day and market conditions, so treat my figures as a rough reference.

Summary

I registered on December 1, 2024, and purchased my first challenges on December 3. I have only received one payout of 149 USD so far. Support is fast and polite, pricing is affordable, and the rules are straightforward. However, the firm was recently delisted from Prop Firm Match, and Trustpilot reviews are not particularly favorable. I will continue using them cautiously while monitoring the situation.

Timeline

December 1, 2024

I registered with Funding Traders.

December 3, 2024

I purchased two challenges.

December 20, 2024

One challenge was disqualified, but the other one passed.

January 9, 2025

Unfortunately, I was disqualified without ever receiving a payout from that account.

July 11, 2025

I reached out to confirm whether my trading approach was acceptable. I received a reply quickly and was told there were no issues. Based on my other interactions, responses generally came within 2 to 3 hours — and sometimes within minutes.

October 21, 2025

I received an email titled “Review from Risk Management.”

The content stated that I had incurred losses exceeding 4% in a single day (four consecutive 1% losses), and that I had placed two trades on a 10k account trading 0.15 lots of Gold with stop-losses hit within minutes (each resulting in a 1% loss).

I admit that I was trading this account with slightly larger lot sizes and higher frequency than my other accounts. At the time, most of my accounts with other firms were 50k or 100k, so I was taking on excessive risk to try to generate meaningful returns from a 10k account. The reason I was using a 10k account with Funding Traders was that there were many negative reviews at the time, and I had not yet received a payout from them. In other words, I was testing with a small account because I was unsure whether payouts on larger accounts would be honored. This may come across as disrespectful to the firm, but I consider this kind of approach part of risk management. In any case, I was taking more risk than usual for my own reasons, and I received a warning. No restrictions or penalties were applied.

November 4, 2025

I received my first payout — 149 USD, processed without any issues.

March 2026

As of now, I have only received one small payout of 149 USD. Support is fast and polite. Based on my personal records, trading costs are lower compared to other firms. Pricing is affordable and there are no particularly complex rules. However, the firm was recently delisted from Prop Firm Match, and Trustpilot reviews are not very positive either.

I prioritize my own experience over online reviews. I have not yet received a large payout, so I cannot say how things will go — but my experience so far has been good. That said, I do not ignore online reviews entirely. I plan to continue using them while keeping a close eye on the situation.

Summary

I purchased my first challenge on October 14, 2025, and received a payout of 549 USD on December 18. This is my only payout from Bright Funded so far, but I currently hold two 100k funded accounts and expect to receive significant payouts this year. I will continue to update this page with the results. Their support is also very fast and thorough.

Timeline

July 19, 2025

I registered with Bright Funded.

I also asked a few questions before getting started. (I always read through all the rules, but since English is not my native language, I often reach out to confirm things before I start using a firm.)

Their replies were very fast — about 10 minutes both times — and the content was clear and easy to understand.

Looking back at my other interactions with them, they consistently responded to my requests for help within a few minutes to around 10 minutes.

October 14, 2025

I purchased a challenge. Given the high reviews and quality of support, I could have started sooner, but I had multiple accounts with other firms at the time, so I put it off for a while.

November 14, 2025

I passed a challenge with Bright Funded for the first time.

December 18, 2025

I submitted my first payout request from Bright Funded (549 USD). It was approved in approximately 18 hours. Unfortunately, this account was disqualified after just one payout.

February 10, 2026

I purchased three 100k challenges.

February 25, 2026

I passed a challenge.

March 6, 2026

I passed another challenge. Two out of the three purchases have now passed, and I currently hold two 100k funded accounts.

Going Forward

I have only received one payout so far, but I plan to build profits steadily with these accounts going forward.

Summary

I purchased my first challenge on October 13, 2024, and ultimately received approximately 6,200 USD in payouts. I violated the margin rule twice, but my account was never closed — instead, the response was either a removal or reduction of profits. The verification call was also very friendly. However, in the end, my access to purchase new challenges was suspended on the grounds that I had engaged in reverse hedging with an external account — which is not true.

Timeline

October 13, 2024

I registered and purchased a challenge on this day. At the time, the overall number of reviews on Prop Firm Match was still low, but I remember that For Traders had a high rating. That is what led me to purchase.

November 25, 2024

I passed a challenge for the first time.

December 23, 2024

I received an email about a margin violation. I do not remember the exact details of the trade, but I believe it was caused by accidentally trading 5 lots of Gold — likely a mistake or mix-up, since I was trading around 5 lots on pairs like EUR/USD and USD/JPY at the time.

The 1,212 USD in profit from that trade was removed, but my account remained active.

In my experience, stricter firms would have closed the account immediately.

December 30, 2024

I received an email titled “Verification Call – Payout.”

I do not know whether this was random or triggered by concerns about my trading. When I explained that I only understand Japanese, they assured me it would not be a problem since they have translation tools.

January 7, 2025

Due to the previous margin violation (One-Sided Betting Rule), my payout was reduced to 50%, but I was told that my account would remain active. I gladly accepted this offer. Honestly, it was over a year ago now, but I still remember the interaction being very friendly.

I have also had verification calls with Alpha Capital Group and The5ers, and in both cases the representatives were polite and kind, even though I could only communicate in Japanese.

February 11, 2025

I received an email titled “Account Review & Rule Breach.” This is quite embarrassing, but I had committed the same margin violation again. I was always diligent about setting stop-losses and limiting risk, but my understanding of margin usage and leverage was insufficient at the time. I lost approximately 3,000 USD in profit as a result, but my account remained active.

February 13, 2025

I received an email titled “Account Review.” It stated that I had been engaging in reverse hedging with an external account, and that new challenge purchases would be restricted. This is simply not true.

I communicated this to them, but they said they would investigate — and I never received a reply.

I followed up on this matter in April 2025 and again in June 2025, but I received no explanation.

Up until I received that email on February 13, 2025, I found their support to be polite, flexible, and genuinely on the side of traders. However, they ultimately suspended my ability to purchase new challenges based on a claim that I was reverse hedging with an external account. I do not understand why this happened.

I still hope this matter will be resolved someday.

Summary

Summary

I registered on November 17, 2024, and purchased a challenge on the same day. My total payouts to date are approximately 28,400 USD, and I was expecting a payout of about 1,600 USD the following week. However, the payout was not processed. I was not given any explanation as to which rule, if any, I had violated. My 100k funded account and the pending 1,600 USD payout were invalidated, and my access was terminated.

My records up until March 2026 remain accurate to the best of my knowledge, so I have left them as they were. Details regarding the payout rejection and account termination are documented at the bottom of this blog post.

Timeline

November 17, 2024

I registered and purchased a challenge on the same day.

May 2, 2025

I received a “One Side Betting Warning” email. This was only a warning — no restrictions or penalties were applied. I typically analyze charts over the weekend and decide on a direction for the week, so I often hold positions in the same direction throughout the week. I believe this is what triggered it. (I do change direction mid-week depending on price action.)

One-side betting is prohibited by many prop firms, not just Blueberry, but the definition varies and is often vague. I hope this will become clearer across the industry in the future.

June 25, 2025

I received a “Chasing Losses Notice” email. This rule requires traders to wait at least 5 minutes before opening a trade in the opposite direction after a loss. I generally do not take the opposite position immediately after a loss, but there are occasional cases where my pre-planned strategy anticipates that if a position hits stop-loss, price is likely to move strongly in that direction. I traded according to my strategy but had forgotten about this rule.

As a result, my funded account was removed, and I received a free Phase 1 account as a replacement. Personally, I felt it was a bit harsh to have an account deleted without a prior warning, but the rule was clearly stated beforehand — so I accepted it as my own oversight.

September 3, 2025

I completed my first scaling with Blueberry. It normally appears to be completed within 24 hours, but in my case it took 2 weeks. I have never experienced such a delay with any other firm. I do not know whether this was an exceptional case, but I was honestly disappointed by the experience.

September – November 2025

A coupon code called “BONUS” was issued for Japanese Blueberry accounts. It was extremely generous — if you passed a 100k challenge, you would receive a 200k funded account. (The original communication was in Japanese; the English version was translated with the help of AI.)

Due to the language barrier, the exchange went on for a long time, so I will only share the outcome. The promotion’s description turned out to be incorrect. In reality, the offer was: after passing and making a payout, you would receive a 200k challenge account — not a funded account. Their resolution for me was to grant the 200k challenge account without requiring the payout condition.

I was not fully satisfied — the language barrier contributed to the issue taking far too long to resolve, and the benefit I received was different from what the promotion originally stated. However, they did waive the condition and grant the 200k challenge account, and the matter was ultimately resolved, so I accepted the outcome.

January 7, 2026

Martingale violation. On a 100k account, I traded 0.25 lots of Gold and took a 0.5% loss. Approximately 24 hours later, I traded 0.5 lots of Gold and made a 0.6% profit. As a result, my funded account was reset to Phase 1.

This was far from a gambling approach, but under the rules at the time, it was considered a violation. This rule is reportedly being removed after March 12, 2026. (Please check the official site to confirm.)

Additionally — this is a personal issue — I have been unable to purchase new challenges since January 2026. I contacted support and was told that there are no restrictions on my account specifically, and that it is a network error, which was reassuring. However, despite trying various methods, I still have not been able to make a purchase. (If anyone has experienced the same issue, I would appreciate any advice.)

March 13, 2026

I received an email stating that my account would be placed under monitoring. Approximately half a day later, I received another email informing me that my account had been terminated.

At that time, I had only one active funded account — a 100k account. I reached out to ask what aspect of my trading or conduct had been considered problematic. After receiving no response for about a week, I followed up on March 20. I included the complete trading history of the only account that had been active at the time, but I did not receive a reply.

Trading history

March 24, 2026

I sent another email requesting an explanation. I then received a response stating that the decision to terminate my account and reject the payout would not be reversed.

I have redacted names for privacy reasons, so it may be difficult to tell from the screenshots, but the name included in their email did not appear to be mine.

In Closing 

Despite some issues along the way, I had generally accepted them — many seemed attributable to the language barrier — and I felt the relationship had remained reasonably positive. However, as my payouts grew larger and my trading became more consistently profitable, I found myself losing everything without what I would consider a sufficient explanation.

Unless this matter is re-examined, I would not personally recommend using Blueberry.

Summary

I registered on June 2, 2025. As of March 2026, I have only received about 1,200 USD in payouts, but I currently have 150k in active funded accounts, and just recently another 150k was approved — bringing my total funded capital to 300k. I expect the payout amount to accelerate significantly this year.

Their support is among the very best. The CEO personally resolves issues on Discord and stands by traders — not just with words, but with actions. If you find that hard to believe, go check their Discord for yourself.

They also run the business in a very bold and trader-friendly way: they removed the Step 2 challenge, they pay monthly salaries even while accounts are in drawdown, and they offer multiple free retries. This is one of the companies I am watching most closely right now.

Timeline

June 2, 2025

I registered on this day and sent a few questions to support. I received a reply in about an hour and a half. Every question was answered clearly and thoroughly, which left a very positive impression. It is actually quite common for one question to be overlooked when you ask several at once, so the fact that they responded this quickly with this level of detail was proof of their support quality.

They were running an attractive promotion at the time — purchasing a 100k challenge came with two free 50k challenges. I bought two 100k challenges, and the free accounts were automatically granted on June 5.

June 30, 2025

I passed a challenge for the first time.

With this account, I received about 300 USD in profit (0.6% of the account balance) before being disqualified due to the maximum drawdown.

November 2025

A “Black Friday Bundle” was released, priced at 3,500 USD. It included three 100k Step 1 challenges (worth about 2,400 USD), 3,000 USD in credit for future challenge purchases, and several other perks.

Honestly, I found it very expensive — even considering the high value of what was included.

So I reached out several times, and they were flexible in working with me.

First, instead of a single lump-sum payment, they customized a split payment for me. I paid 3,000 USD upfront by credit card, and the remaining 500 USD was deducted from the profit in an account I already held.

Second, the bundle included three months of TradingView Premium charts, which I did not need. When I let them know, they gave me 150 USD in credit instead.

Third, the credits were originally usable only for Step 3, but I had already determined that Step 3 did not suit my trading style. I asked if I could use them for Step 1 purchases instead, and they adjusted it so I could use them for Step 1 accounts of 50k or less.

This was a promotion available at the time and is no longer offered. I am also not encouraging anyone to make unreasonable demands. This was simply a case of both sides finding common ground to make things work.

Going Forward

My experience with Lark Funding has been very positive so far, but I have not yet received large payouts from them. I currently hold a total of 300k in funded accounts — some already active and some recently approved. These accounts include a feature that allows you to receive a portion of your profits even while in drawdown, provided certain conditions are met. I will continue to document in real time whether regular payouts and these bonus payments are processed without issues, how long approvals take, and anything else that comes up.

Summary

I purchased my first account on March 10, 2025. As of March 2026, I have purchased a total of five accounts. Two failed in Phase 1, and three passed Phase 1 but failed in Phase 2. In other words, I have not yet received a single payout — but I want to document my experience so far.

March 9, 2025

This company has a very long track record, which caught my interest. Before registering, I reached out with a few questions. (These were about the rules at the time, which may have since changed.) Their response was very thorough. In my experience, when you ask multiple questions at once, it is common for at least one to go unanswered — but this company addressed every single one carefully. (I will not attach all of the exchanges to avoid making this too long, but I contacted them several times and every reply was equally thorough.)

March 10, 2025

I was impressed by the support I received the day before, so I registered and purchased an account right away.

February 6, 2026

The consistency rule was removed. The rules were never particularly strict to begin with, but this change allows for even greater freedom in trading. (Please check the official site for the latest information.)

Going Forward

This is about all I can write at this point. I do not currently hold any accounts, but I expect I will purchase again. My goal is to receive payouts and work toward scaling. I will update this page as things progress.

Summary

Fintokei is the company that first introduced me to prop firms. I registered on January 26, 2024, and purchased my first challenge the following day. I received a total of about 5,000 USD in payouts without any issues, though my performance was nothing to boast about. I am currently temporarily suspended from making new purchases.

January 26, 2024

I registered with Fintokei and purchased an account the next day. This was my very first prop firm. I failed the challenge.

February 4, 2024

I purchased my second challenge, but failed again.

April 2024

Between April 8 and April 16, I purchased 15 challenges. I honestly do not remember exactly what I was thinking at the time, but I was probably trying to turn things around in one shot. I was risking about 2% to 4% per trade.

April 23, 2024

I submitted my first payout request. I was not sure if I would actually receive the money, so I tested with a small amount — around 100 USD. It was approved in about 10 hours. Looking back now, my other payouts were also approved in roughly half a day.

January 3, 2025

I received a warning email. The email mentioned something related to hedging across different prop firms, but this was not true in my case.

As a result, my leverage was reduced, and my daily loss and profit were both capped at 1%. Additionally, new purchases were temporarily suspended.

However, my active accounts remained usable, and I received several payouts without any issues after that — totaling 5,000 USD.

Summary

I registered and purchased my first challenge on May 6, 2025. I have only received about 3,000 USD in payouts so far, but I am very satisfied with their support. They also send email notifications on payout dates. I never really forget payout dates, but this kind of thoughtful gesture makes me feel that the company genuinely cares about its traders.

May 6, 2025

I purchased my first challenge account.

November 19, 2025

I accidentally placed a trade during a news event, so I contacted support to ask if there was any issue. I received a reply in just 3 minutes. Not every response is that fast, but looking back at my past interactions, most inquiries were resolved within a few minutes to a few hours — and even when I asked detailed follow-up questions, everything was typically settled within a day.

Personal Impressions

This is just my personal opinion, but I really appreciate the way they run their business. There is no aggressive or exaggerated advertising designed to hype people up. You can see this clearly by looking at their X account and FAQ — they talk about trading and prop firms in a realistic way. They do not sell unrealistic dreams. (I do not necessarily criticize that kind of marketing, since it can sometimes be a powerful motivator — it is just not their style.)

Payouts

I have not received any large payouts yet. My first account resulted in a withdrawal of just under 500 USD — a 1% profit. My second account did not generate any profit, so I was unable to withdraw. My third account resulted in a 3,000 USD withdrawal, and this account is still active.

I am gradually improving.

My goal is to receive 50,000 USD in payouts from ATFunded by the end of 2026.