Syed Ibtesam Ahmed
My name is Syed Ibtesam Ahmed. I am 24, from Karachi, Pakistan, and I primarily trade Gold and Bitcoin. My route to a payout ran through more than twenty blown accounts, and it started with one simple thought: if they can do it, why can’t I?
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Can watching other people collect payouts on social media actually keep you going? Syed Ibtesam Ahmed, a 24-year-old trader from Karachi who trades gold and Bitcoin on the 15 minute chart with SMC, trap trading and liquidity, failed 20 to 25 funded accounts between September and November 2025 and took his first payout in January 2026. In this interview, he explains why he takes a break instead of quitting, the 50,000 dollar funded account that was his lowest point, and why he would not place a single trade in his first week on a million dollars.
I came to know about funded accounts and prop firms in September 2025, and I received my first payout in January 2026. The biggest change was simple but huge – I became a profitable trader. I had been trading spot and futures since 2021 or 2022, but back then my profits were small and my losses were much bigger. My first real proof it was working came when I gifted myself an iPhone from my payouts, on top of the day-to-day expenses that trading was already covering.
Between September and November 2025 I failed around 20 to 25 funded accounts. Most were free accounts and I only paid for two or three. What kept me going was watching people get payouts on social media and telling myself that if they can do that, then why can’t I? What I learned from all those losses is that good things take time.
My lowest point was failing a 50,000 dollar funded account. I thought about quitting, but instead of quitting I just took a break. Trading is my main source of income, so it comes with a lot of stress and overthinking – that part never fully goes away, you just learn to manage it.
Today I avoid aggressive trades and I never trade against the market. I only trade Gold and Bitcoin, mostly on the 15-minute timeframe, using SMC, trap trading and liquidity grabs. Early on I used to sit in front of my laptop all day and force trades with no proper setup, until I realised I was trading at the wrong time. Now I focus only on the US session.
My most recent losing trade cost me around 750 to 800 dollars. I took a trade against the market at a strong resistance zone, where there had been heavy selling before, and the market trapped me right there. The lesson is simple: never trade against the market again. I also do not always follow a fixed risk-to-reward ratio, because chasing a high reward every time can make you greedy and blind to what the market is actually offering.
My advice to myself one year ago would be that I did not need to breach 20 to 25 accounts to learn the lesson, haha. If prop firms disappeared tomorrow I would move toward business, or keep trading with my own funds. And if I were handed a million-dollar account today, I would not place a single trade for the first seven days – I would spend that week building a complete journal and a plan for how to manage it, because an account like that would be a game-changer for my life.
Verified funded – the receipts
About the writer – Syed Ibtesam Ahmed
Syed Ibtesam Ahmed is a 24-year-old trader from Karachi, Pakistan, trading Gold and Bitcoin with an SMC, trap-trading and liquidity-based approach.
