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City Traders Imperium Rules Explained (2026)

Every City Traders Imperium (CTI) rule that can end an account or hold up a payout, with the numbers worked on a $100,000 2-Step. Rules were checked against the firm's published pages in October 2026; confirm in your dashboard.

Last updated October 19, 2026 · rules checked October 2026

Overview: four programs

CTI sells two evaluations and two programs with no evaluation. The 1-Step Challenge asks 8% with a 5% trailing drawdown and no daily limit, from $29 for $2,500 to $449 for $100,000. The 2-Step Challenge asks 10% in Phase 1 and 5% in Phase 2 with a 5% daily limit and a 10% static drawdown, from $39 for $2,500 to $549 for $100,000. Both need at least 3 profitable trading days per phase and have no time limit.

Instant Funding starts you on half the package size: the $2,500 package ($79) trades a $1,250 starting balance, up to the $80,000 package ($1,599) on $40,000. Direct Funding gives the full balance from the start, from $229 for $5,000 to $3,999 for $80,000. Both use a 6% static drawdown and no daily limit.

A profitable trading day is a day where trades closed that day net at least 0.5% of the initial balance. It counts on the day you close, not the day you open.

Rules that end the account

Daily drawdown (2-Step only)
5% of the initial balance below that day's starting balance. Floating losses count, and touching the level is a hard breach. It resets at midnight platform time: GMT+2 on MT5 and GMT+0 on Match-Trader. The 1-Step, Instant and Direct programs have no daily limit.
Trailing drawdown (1-Step)
5% of the initial balance below the highest balance reached. It is balance-based and moves up with each new high. On the funded account, the stop-out is (highest balance minus last withdrawal) minus 5%, so a payout lowers the floor by the amount you take out.
Static drawdown (2-Step, Instant, Direct)
10% of the initial balance on the 2-Step and 6% on Instant and Direct, fixed for the life of the account. It is tested on equity, so a floating loss that reaches the level breaches even if the trade is still open.
Stop loss rule
Funded accounts need a visible stop loss within 1 minute of entry. If none is set, the trade is closed automatically. This is a soft breach, so the account stays open, but profit from that trade does not count toward the target.
Strategy limits
The 1-Step allows third-party EAs and martingale. The 2-Step and Direct Funding allow only EAs you own and do not allow martingale.

Payout rules

  • 1-Step and 2-Step funded: the program pages list the first payout at 7 days. CTI's payout guide adds that you need 7 profitable trading days and 2% profit, then later payouts run monthly in the last 5 days of each month. The split starts at 80%.
  • Instant Funding: first payout after 5 days. The split is 50% on the starting balance, 70% at fully funded level 1 and 80% at level 2. CTI's program guide describes a bi-weekly cycle.
  • Direct Funding: on demand from day 5 at a 70% split, with no consistency rule.
  • VIP tiers: Bronze pays 90% with weekly payouts, Silver and Gold pay 100% with on-demand payouts.
  • Minimum withdrawal: $100. Moving profit to the wallet can take up to 2 business days, and requests after 15:00 GMT are handled the next business day.
  • Scaling: each 10% milestone on Instant needs a 20% consistency score and doubles the balance, up to $2M per account. Challenge accounts scale after +10% over a rolling 4 months with 2 of those months profitable.

News and weekend

News trading is allowed on every CTI program, with no blackout window around releases. Weekend and overnight holds are also allowed. Swaps are charged triple on Wednesday for forex, commodities and metals, and on Friday for indices and crypto, so a held position pays for the weekend on those days.

Worked example: $100,000 2-Step

The daily limit is $5,000 and the static floor is $90,000. If you finish Monday at $102,000, Tuesday's daily floor is $97,000. If you finish Tuesday at $98,500, Wednesday's daily floor is $93,500, while the static floor stays at $90,000 the whole time.

Phase 1 passes at $110,000 with at least 3 days that each close $500 or more in profit. Phase 2 needs $105,000 on the reset balance. On the funded account, a trade opened without a stop loss is closed after a minute and its profit does not count.

Compare a $100,000 1-Step: the floor starts at $95,000. A new high of $104,000 lifts it to $99,000. A $3,000 payout from there lowers it to $96,000.

How Proof tracks it

Pick the CTI preset for your program. Proof sets the 2-Step daily floor from the starting balance at the reset time, keeps the static floor on equity, moves the 1-Step floor with each new balance high and lowers it by each withdrawal, counts profitable trading days at 0.5% of the initial balance, and flags a trade logged without a stop loss. The drawdown calculator and payout date calculator work the same numbers by hand.

In Proof

Proof tracks every CTI rule for you

The CTI presets carry the 2-Step daily floor, the static and trailing max floors, withdrawals that lower the 1-Step floor, profitable-day counts and the stop loss check.

See how Proof does it

Frequently asked questions

Does City Traders Imperium have a daily drawdown?

Only on the 2-Step Challenge: 5% of the initial balance below the day's starting balance, resetting at midnight platform time. The 1-Step, Instant and Direct programs have none.

Is the CTI 1-Step drawdown trailing?

Yes. It is 5% of the initial balance below the highest balance, based on balance rather than equity, and each withdrawal lowers the stop-out by the amount taken out.

Can I trade news with CTI?

Yes. News trading is allowed on all programs with no blackout window, and weekend holds are allowed.

What is a profitable trading day at CTI?

A day where trades closed that day net at least 0.5% of the initial balance. The challenges need 3 per phase.

Do I need a stop loss at CTI?

On funded accounts, yes. Set a visible stop within 1 minute or the trade is closed automatically and its profit does not count.

Why does CTI Instant Funding start at half the size?

The package price covers the fully funded size, but you start on half. A $2,500 package trades $1,250 with a $75 drawdown until you reach the 10% milestone.

Related

Sources checked October 2026: CTI: 1-Step Challenge · CTI: 2-Step Challenge · CTI: Instant Funding · CTI: Direct Funding · CTI: Choosing your funding program · CTI: Payouts and scaling with the 1-Step · Help center: Maximum Trailing Drawdown · Help center: Max Daily Drawdown · Help center: Max Absolute Drawdown · Help center: Profitable Trading Days · Help center: Stop loss rule · Help center: How do I request a payout