Velotrade - Prop Firm Review

Key Rules

• Profit target (1-Step Classic): 10%
• Profit target (2-Step Classic): 10% Phase 1 + 5% Phase 2
• Profit target (1-Step Pro): 10% (only on $5K)
• Daily loss limit: 4% (1-Step Classic) | 5% (2-Step Classic) | 3% (1-Step Pro)
• Max drawdown: 7% trailing (1-Step Classic) | 10% trailing (2-Step Classic) | 3% static (1-Step Pro)
• Profit split: 80% default, upgradable to 90% at purchase for +10% of the base fee
• Time limit: none
• Consistency rule: none
• News trading: allowed
• Weekend hold: allowed
• API access: full API on every account, no extra fee, no approval
• Algos/bots: allowed under the same rules as manual trading
• Account capital cap: up to $200,000

Company Information

• Operator: Velotrade Re Limited (Hong Kong)
• Crypto prop launch: early 2026
• Legacy business launch: 2016 (invoice-finance)
• CEO: Gianluca Pizzituti (ex-Dresdner Kleinwort derivatives; founded an FX/Index HFT firm in Singapore)
• Executive Chairman: Vittorio De Angelis (ex-JP Morgan, Dresdner Kleinwort, Bank of America in London; ex-Head of Brokerage at a global broker in HK)
• Funding ceiling: up to $200,000 per account
• Account sizes: $5K, $10K, $25K, $50K, $100K, $200K
• Platform: DXtrade
• Account portal: portal.velotrade.com
• Markets: crypto only (BTC, ETH, SOL, BNB, XRP, ADA, XMR, LTC, TRX, DOT, AVAX, DOGE and more)
• Drawdown model: EOD trailing (Classic plans) or static (1-Step Pro)
• Legacy business paid out: $2.5B+ to clients since 2016 (invoice-finance, separate from prop)
• Featured in: Bloomberg, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Nasdaq, Business Insider (legacy business)
• Community: Discord, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram

Key Features at a Glance

Challenge Fees

One-time fees starting at $35 (1-Step Pro $5K) and $60 (2-Step Classic $5K) and $72 (1-Step Classic $5K). The 90% profit-split add-on is +10% of the base fee at purchase (e.g. $72 + $7 = $79 on 1-Step Classic $5K). No monthly fees.

Account Types

Three formats: 1-Step Classic (single phase, balanced), 2-Step Classic (two phases, lowest fee per size), and 1-Step Pro (tightest static drawdown, lowest fee but only on $5K).

Profit Split Options

80/20 in your favour by default. Upgrade to 90/10 at the time of challenge purchase for +10% on the base plan fee.

Account Sizes

$5,000, $10,000, $25,000, $50,000, $100,000, and $200,000 on Classic plans. 1-Step Pro is $5,000 only.

Trading Platform

DXtrade (web + desktop). Industry-standard prop-firm platform with full charting, depth-of-book, and order management. Full API access on every account for algos and bots.

Financial Markets

Crypto only. Major and mid-cap pairs settled as crypto CFD-style instruments inside the DXtrade Prop environment: BTC, ETH, SOL, BNB, XRP, ADA, XMR, LTC, TRX, DOT, AVAX, DOGE, and more.

Evaluation Programs

1-Step Classic

Single phase with faster qualification. 10% profit target, 4% daily loss limit, 7% trailing drawdown, 80-90% profit split. Available across all six account sizes ($5K to $200K). Best for traders who want speed without sacrificing room for swings.

2-Step Classic

Traditional two-phase evaluation with the lowest fee at every size. 10% target in Phase 1 + 5% target in Phase 2, 5% daily loss limit, 10% trailing drawdown, 80-90% split. Best for traders who don’t mind the extra phase in exchange for cheaper entry and more drawdown headroom.

1-Step Pro

Tightest static drawdown for disciplined risk managers. Only available on $5K: 10% target, 3% daily loss, 3% static drawdown. Lowest fee in the lineup at $35. Best for traders who want the cheapest path to evaluate Velotrade and don’t need room to swing.

Account Sizes & Pricing

Anchor prices ($35, $60, $72, $39, $66, $79) confirmed on the live Velotrade challenges page for $5K plans. Tier prices for $10K-$200K accounts vary by plan family – verify on velotrade.com/challenges before publishing.

Trading Platforms

Velotrade runs on DXtrade – the same institutional-grade platform used by a growing number of crypto and CFD prop firms – paired with full API access on every account.

• DXtrade: web + desktop terminal with charting, depth-of-book, advanced order types, position management, and live P&L
• Full API on every account: connect any algo, bot, or signal automation system. No extra fee, no approval gate. Same rules apply as manual trading.
• AI-driven institutional hedging: Velotrade hedges the firm’s exposure via institutional liquidity bridges – the same protection used by hedge funds and banks
• Account portal: portal.velotrade.com for purchases, billing, and account management

Financial Markets

Velotrade is crypto-only and presents that as a deliberate design choice: higher leverage, simpler compliance, faster execution. The firm advertises a curated set of major and mid-cap pairs.

• Major pairs visible on the live homepage: BTC, ETH, SOL, BNB, XRP, ADA, XMR, LTC, TRX, DOT, AVAX, DOGE
• Settlement and quote currencies aligned with USDT / USD on the DXtrade environment
• No forex, no indices, no commodities, no equities
• No futures contracts outside the crypto perpetual-style instruments offered inside DXtrade
• Higher leverage than typical FX prop firms – exact maximums per asset confirmed inside DXtrade’s instrument list

Challenge Specifications

• Formats: 1-Step Classic, 2-Step Classic, 1-Step Pro
• Time limit: none on any plan
• Minimum trading days: per plan rule set on the Velotrade rules page
• Profit target: 10% (1-Step Classic and Pro) | 10% + 5% (2-Step Classic)
• Daily loss limit: 4% (1-Step Classic) | 5% (2-Step Classic) | 3% (1-Step Pro)
• Max drawdown: 7% trailing (1-Step Classic) | 10% trailing (2-Step Classic) | 3% static (1-Step Pro)
• Drawdown mode: EOD trailing on Classic plans; static on 1-Step Pro
• Consistency rule: none
• News trading: permitted at all times – no event-based windows
• Weekend hold: permitted
• Strategy restrictions: none on manual or automated trading
• API access: full, on every account, no extra cost
• Account capital cap: $200,000

Payout Methods

Velotrade markets “payouts on demand” with crypto rails as the primary settlement method.

• Frequency: on demand once rules are met (no fixed cadence lockup)
• Profit split: 80% trader by default, 90% if upgraded at purchase
• Crypto rails: USDT and other major stablecoins shown in Velotrade marketing materials (e.g. Tether logo on the payout step)
• Processing: per the firm’s rules page; review windows align with the funded-trader payout SLA
• No personal capital at risk: only the one-time challenge fee is paid by the trader; all P&L runs on Velotrade’s books

Trading Commissions

• Activation fee: one-time fee paid at challenge purchase; from $35 (1-Step Pro $5K) to tier-priced for $200K plans
• 90/10 split add-on: +10% on top of base plan fee at purchase
• Monthly subscription: none
• API access fee: none – included on every account
• Spreads: applied via DXtrade’s pricing engine against Velotrade’s institutional liquidity bridges
• Reset / re-attempt: per challenge rules – confirm exact terms on velotrade.com/rules
• Refund policy: activation fees are typically non-refundable once trading begins – verify on the live checkout

Prohibited Activities & IP Rules

Velotrade’s pitch centres on “clear rules” and a one-page rule set. The firm permits almost every common trading approach, with restrictions focused on drawdown discipline rather than strategy timing.

• No market manipulation: standard prop-firm clauses against spoofing, wash trading, and platform exploit
• No latency arbitrage against the DXtrade pricing engine
• Account ownership: each funded account is tied to one verified individual
• Strategy freedom: scalping, swing trading, news trading, weekend holds, EAs, API bots and quant strategies all permitted
• No consistency rule: single best day can be any percentage of total profit
• News trading without restriction: Velotrade is one of the few firms that explicitly does not enforce event-based news windows
• Restricted jurisdictions: per Velotrade’s terms – verify before purchase
• Breach consequence: account terminated per the published rule set; rule for new evaluation purchase shown on rules page
• Simulated trading disclosure: all customer accounts are demo accounts with simulated funds per Velotrade’s published disclosure

Unique Features

• Crypto-native rule design: rules built around how crypto markets actually behave, not retrofitted from forex/CFD assumptions
• Full API access on every account at no extra fee: rare in the prop industry – most firms charge or gatekeep algo access
• News trading without event windows: Velotrade (alongside DNA Funded) is one of the only firms to allow this
• Institutional-grade founders: ex-JP Morgan, Dresdner Kleinwort, Bank of America trading backgrounds
• AI-driven institutional hedging: the firm hedges trader P&L via institutional liquidity bridges, not via betting against traders
• Three challenge formats: 1-Step Classic, 2-Step Classic, and 1-Step Pro give traders genuine choice on speed vs cost vs strictness
• $2.5B+ legacy payout history: the original Velotrade brand (invoice-finance) has paid out $2.5B+ to clients since 2016
• Payouts on demand: no fixed cycle lockup

Why Choose Velotrade?

Velotrade’s positioning is unusually coherent: a crypto-only prop firm built by traders with institutional CV’s, designed from day one around crypto market behaviour rather than forex assumptions. Full API access on every account is a genuine differentiator – most prop firms either ban bots or gatekeep them behind extra fees. The rule set is short, news trading is explicitly allowed, weekend holds are fine, and there is no consistency rule. The trade-offs to weigh: this is a brand-new 2026 entrant (the institutional payout legacy comes from a separate invoice-finance business), it is crypto only, and trading is on simulated accounts per the firm’s own disclosure. If you trade crypto, want to run an algo, and want a clean rule set you can actually read in one page, Velotrade is hard to ignore.

Frequently Asked Questions

About Velotrade