Vest Markets Rules: Vest Capital 1-Step, 2-Step & Instant
11 min read
Vest Markets rules are simple, but which ones apply depends on the account you buy. Its funded program is called Vest Capital, and each account type has its own profit target, loss limits, and profit split. Break a loss limit once and the account closes for good.
This guide covers every rule across the 1-Step, 2-Step, and Instant accounts so you know what you're working with before you choose an account.
How Vest Capital Works
Vest Markets is a perpetual futures platform. Its funded program, Vest Capital, lets you trade the firm's capital on that same platform and keep a share of the profit.
Perpetual futures, or perps, are contracts with no expiry date. Vest offers them on stocks, indices, crypto, commodities, and forex, all margined in USDC. The ES and NQ markets are perps that track the CME contracts, so they have their own pricing, margin requirements, and trading rules.
Vest Capital sells three account types:
1-Step: One evaluation phase. You can buy it with preset rules or build a Bespoke Account and choose the profit target, Daily Loss Limit, and Profit Split yourself.
2-Step: Two evaluation phases with fixed rules.
Instant Account: No evaluation. The account is Live from the moment your payment clears.
Every account is a one-time payment with no subscription. Trading in the Evaluation Phase is simulated under live market conditions, and profit made during the evaluation is not paid out. Once you pass, a Live Funded Account of the same size is created instantly, and Vest describes it as trading real Vest capital.
Vest Capital Evaluation Rules: 1-Step and 2-Step
Every Vest Capital evaluation comes in three sizes, which Vest calls tiers: Silver ($5,000), Gold ($10,000), and Platinum ($25,000). You can buy any tier as a 1-Step or a 2-Step. The 1-Step comes with preset rules, or you can build a Bespoke Account and set the profit target, Daily Loss Limit, and Profit Split yourself.
You pass by reaching the profit target without breaching the Max. Drawdown or the Daily Loss Limit. There is no minimum number of trading days, no time limit, and no consistency rule.
You fail if your account equity drops below either loss limit, your Max. Drawdown or your Daily Loss Limit. Both are hard breaches. The account closes immediately and permanently, with no warning and no grace period. To trade again you would need to purchase a new account.
Trading fees in the Evaluation Phase are simulated, but they still come out of your balance and count toward both loss limits.
The tier you choose changes the dollar amounts, not the rules. Every tier uses the same percentages, shown below.
1-Step preset | 1-Step Bespoke | 2-Step | |
|---|---|---|---|
Profit target | 10% | 10% or 20% | 10%, then 5% |
Daily Loss Limit | 3% | None, 3%, or 4% | 3% |
Max. Drawdown | 6% | 6% | 6% |
Profit Split | 80% | 80% or 90% | 80% |
The Max. Drawdown is 6% on every evaluation account, including Bespoke Accounts. It is a static drawdown, set from your starting capital, and it never trails your profits. It is measured on account equity, which includes unrealized profit and loss on open positions.
Tier | Trading Capital | Max. Drawdown | Closes if equity drops below |
|---|---|---|---|
Silver | $5,000 | $300 | $4,700 |
Gold | $10,000 | $600 | $9,400 |
Platinum | $25,000 | $1,500 | $23,500 |
Vest Capital 1-Step Rules
The 1-Step has one evaluation phase. The preset version has a 10% profit target, a 3% Daily Loss Limit, and an 80% Profit Split.
A Bespoke Account lets you change all three. You can raise the profit target to 20%, set the Daily Loss Limit to 4% or remove it, and raise the Profit Split to 90%. Each choice changes the price of the account.
The choices are locked in at purchase and carry through to the Live Funded Account.
Tier | Trading Capital | Profit target (10% or 20%) | Daily Loss Limit | Max. Drawdown |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Silver | $5,000 | $500 or $1,000 | None, 3%, or 4% | $300 |
Gold | $10,000 | $1,000 or $2,000 | None, 3%, or 4% | $600 |
Platinum | $25,000 | $2,500 or $5,000 | None, 3%, or 4% | $1,500 |
Vest Capital 2-Step Rules
The 2-Step has two evaluation phases. You need a 10% profit target in the first phase and a further 5% in the second before the account goes Live.
Nothing on a 2-Step is configurable. Every 2-Step account has a 3% Daily Loss Limit, a 6% Max. Drawdown, and an 80% Profit Split. Those are the same rules as the preset 1-Step.
The difference is the extra phase and the price. Vest prices the 2-Step lower than the equivalent 1-Step in exchange for the two-stage profit target.
Tier | Trading Capital | Phase 1 target (10%) | Phase 2 target (a further 5%) | Daily Loss Limit | Max. Drawdown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Silver | $5,000 | $500 | $250 | 3% | $300 |
Gold | $10,000 | $1,000 | $500 | 3% | $600 |
Platinum | $25,000 | $2,500 | $1,250 | 3% | $1,500 |
After You Pass
When you pass any evaluation, the Evaluation Phase closes and Vest creates a Live Funded Account of the same size instantly. You do not keep the profit from the evaluation.
The loss limits stay the same. The Max. Drawdown keeps the same fixed floor, and the Daily Loss Limit still applies if your account has one. A Live Funded Account has no profit target and no time limit, and you can claim profit at any time.
Trading fees stop being simulated once the account is Live. They are collected from your account balance.
Vest Capital Instant Account Rules
The Instant Account has no evaluation and no profit target. It is Live from the moment your payment clears.
There is one rule: the Max. Drawdown. It is a fixed loss limit set when the account is created, and it equals your one-time payment. There is no Daily Loss Limit.
Trading Capital | Max. Drawdown | Rate | Closes if equity drops below |
|---|---|---|---|
$500 | $10 | 2% | $490 |
$5,000 | $200 | 4% | $4,800 |
$10,000 | $400 | 4% | $9,600 |
$25,000 | $1,000 | 4% | $24,000 |
The Max. Drawdown does not rise with profits or fall with losses. If your account equity drops below it at any point, the account closes immediately and permanently.
The Max. Drawdown on an Instant Account is smaller than on an evaluation account. A $25,000 Instant Account closes below $24,000, while a $25,000 evaluation account closes below $23,500.
The Profit Split is 95%, applied flat at every claim. There is no minimum amount to claim.
The $500 size is only sold as an Instant Account. Evaluation accounts start at $5,000.
Vest Capital Payout Rules: Claim Profit and Profit Split
A Vest Capital payout happens in two steps. Vest calls the first one Claim Profit.
Claim Profit: Moves your share of the profit from your Live Funded Account to your Primary Account. It is credited in 24 hours.
Withdrawal: Moves USDC from your Primary Account to an external wallet.
Only Live Funded Accounts can claim. Profit made in the Evaluation Phase is not paid out.
Profit Split
The Profit Split is set at purchase and does not change when the account goes Live. It is applied flat at every claim, with no further fees or deductions.
Account | Profit Split |
|---|---|
1-Step preset | 80% |
1-Step Bespoke | 80% or 90% |
2-Step | 80% |
Instant Account | 95% |
Claim Profit Rules
You can claim as often as you like. There is no cap on how often you claim or how much, no minimum number of trading days, and no consistency rule. Vest does not list a minimum claim amount on any account.
Every claim takes 24 hours and cannot be reversed once submitted. You may need to close open positions or orders before you can claim.
Withdrawals
Withdrawals are in USDC, with a 1 USDC minimum. You enter the wallet address and network yourself, and a withdrawal cannot be reversed once it is sent. Withdrawals process instantly until your rolling 24-hour total reaches $50,000. Any withdrawal that takes you past that amount has a 24-hour processing period. That limit does not apply to Claim Profit.
Vest Capital Drawdown and Daily Loss Limit
Vest Capital has two loss limits. Every account has a Max. Drawdown. Evaluation accounts also have a Daily Loss Limit, unless you removed it on a Bespoke Account. Both are hard breaches, and both carry over unchanged from the Evaluation Phase to the Live Funded Account.
Account | Max. Drawdown | Daily Loss Limit |
|---|---|---|
1-Step preset | 6% | 3% |
1-Step Bespoke | 6% | None, 3%, or 4% |
2-Step | 6% | 3% |
Instant Account | 2% or 4% | None |
Max. Drawdown
The Vest Capital drawdown is static. It is set from your starting capital when the account is created and never moves. It does not trail your profits and it is not recalculated at the end of the day.
A $25,000 Platinum evaluation account closes if equity drops below $23,500, whether the account is on day one or up $5,000.
Daily Loss Limit
The Daily Loss Limit is 3% or 4% of your account value at 8:00 PM ET. That sets a floor for the next 24 hours, and it resets at 8:00 PM ET the following day.
If your account value is $10,000 at the reset, a 3% limit puts the day's floor at $9,700. A 4% limit puts it at $9,600. The limit stays active overnight and over the weekend.
Equity and Open Positions
Both limits are checked against account equity, which includes unrealized profit and loss. An open position can breach a limit before you close it.
When an account has both limits, whichever floor is higher is the one you reach first. On a $25,000 account with a 4% Daily Loss Limit, the daily floor starts at $24,000 and the Max. Drawdown floor is $23,500.
Before you place a trade, Vest's order form shows an estimated Fail Price. That is the market price at which the position would take your equity below a loss limit and close the account. If your account has both limits, the Fail Price is based on whichever one you would hit first.
Tanto lets you upload your Vest trades as a CSV and keeps a separate history for each account. You can tag trades by setup to see which ones lead to your biggest losing days, and the P&L calendar shows how far each day's close left you from the Max. Drawdown floor.
Rules for Every Vest Capital Account
These rules apply to 1-Step, 2-Step, and Instant accounts, in the Evaluation Phase and once Live.
Account Limits
Evaluation Phase accounts: up to 100 per user.
Live Funded Accounts: up to 10 at the same time. Instant Accounts are Live from purchase, so they count toward the 10.
Allowed and Prohibited Trading
News trading: Allowed. You can open and hold positions before, during, and after any news release.
Scalping and high-frequency trading: Allowed.
Overnight and weekend holding: Allowed. There is no rule requiring you to close positions by a certain time. The Max. Drawdown and the Daily Loss Limit both stay active overnight and through the weekend. The Daily Loss Limit still resets at 8:00 PM ET each day, including weekends. Non-crypto markets lock over the weekend, so a position you hold into the close cannot be closed or adjusted until the market reopens. Vest warns that prices can be more volatile at the reopen.
Prohibited: Coordinating across Funded Accounts to exploit the program, such as taking opposite sides of the same market on different accounts. Vest's terms also prohibit price manipulation and using a VPN to get around its restrictions.
API trading: Not available on any Funded Account.
Restricted countries: Vest's terms exclude residents of China, Hong Kong, Macao, Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Russia, and Syria.
Trading Hours
Market | Weekend close | Reopens |
|---|---|---|
Crypto | Trades continuously | Trades continuously |
ES, NQ, and commodities | Friday 5:00 PM ET | Sunday 6:00 PM ET |
Single stocks | Friday 8:00 PM ET | Sunday 8:00 PM ET |
Forex | Locked over the weekend | Locked over the weekend |
A position held into a weekend close stays open. You cannot close or adjust it until the market reopens.
Leverage and Position Size
Funded Accounts allow up to 50x leverage, set per market. ES and NQ go to 50x, BTC and ETH to 15x, and most other markets to 5x. Vest has no contract limits or per-trade position size limits. Your size is capped by leverage: the most you can hold in a market is your account equity multiplied by that market's leverage cap.
Vest sizes ES and NQ in units, not CME contracts. On ES, 5 units match one Micro E-mini (MES) and 50 units match one E-mini. On NQ, 2 units match one MNQ and 20 units match one E-mini.
XRP and HYPE cannot be traded on a Funded Account.
Fees and Refunds
Trading fees: Maker fees are 0%. Taker fees are 0.0025% on ES and NQ and 0.01% on every other market. Perpetual futures also have funding payments, which settle hourly.
Deposits: Funded Accounts cannot receive deposits.
Refunds: Only available if no trades have been placed. Vest's FAQ says you have 28 days from purchase, but its terms of service and docs say 3 days. Contact Vest support to confirm, and request within 3 days to be safe. Failing the Evaluation Phase does not qualify.
Bottom Line
Vest Markets rules come down to how fast you want to be Live and how much risk you are willing to take. An evaluation makes you hit a profit target first but gives you a 6% Max. Drawdown. An Instant Account is Live the moment you pay, with a 95% Profit Split and a 2% or 4% Max. Drawdown. Vest updates its rules and pricing, so check the Vest Capital docs and the Vest Markets FAQ before you buy.
By Team Tanto · Last updated: October 4, 2026