The Good and Bad about Velotrade
WHO IS VELOTRADE?
Velotrade is a Hong Kong based prop trading firm operated by Velotrade Re Limited, offering funded trading accounts across five asset classes from a single DXtrade account. It’s led by co-founders Gianluca Pizzituti, Chief Executive Officer, and Vittorio De Angelis, Executive Chairman.
Gianluca began his career on the derivatives trading desk at Dresdner Kleinwort in London, then founded and ran a proprietary HFT firm trading FX and equity indices out of Singapore. Vittorio spent more than 30 years in capital markets and risk management, trading equity derivatives at JP Morgan and Dresdner Kleinwort in London, rising to Co Head of Equity Derivatives at Bank of America, and later serving as Head of Brokerage at a global broker in Hong Kong.
Before launching this prop firm, the same two founders built and ran the original Velotrade business, an invoice financing fintech platform established in 2016. The original Velotrade business paid more than $2.5 billion to clients worldwide. Velotrade Re Limited, the entity behind the current funded trading platform, was incorporated in Hong Kong in November 2025 and officially launched the platform in March 2026. The 2016 history and the $2.5 billion figure relate specifically to that earlier Velotrade business, not the prop trading platform itself, though the same leadership carries across both.
Use code “INVEST” to get 25% OFF on all plans.
WHY TRADERS CHOOSE VELOTRADE
Led by institutional traders, not merely endorsed by them. Velotrade’s Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman are the active co-founders of the business, not outside advisors lending their names for credibility. They combine front line institutional trading with risk management, brokerage operations, proprietary HFT and a proven record of building financial technology companies.
24/7 multi asset trading. Traders can access crypto, single stocks, indices and commodities 24/7 from one account, while forex is available 24 hours a day, five days a week, giving traders the freedom to respond to markets beyond traditional exchange hours.
Every payout is publicly verifiable. Completed payouts are settled on the Arbitrum public chain, so traders, reviewers and publishers can verify transactions independently through Arbiscan and the Velotrade payouts page.
Static drawdown on every plan. The maximum drawdown floor is calculated from the starting balance and remains fixed, it does not rise as the account makes a profit.
No consistency rule. Velotrade does not limit how much profit may come from one session, a strong trading day does not create a separate consistency penalty.
No maximum risk per trade. There’s no fixed percentage limit for an individual trade, though traders remain responsible for staying within the applicable daily loss and static maximum drawdown limits.
Built for manual and systematic traders. Full API access is included, and Expert Advisors, trading bots and algorithmic strategies are supported when they represent genuine trading activity and comply with the published rules.
HOW VELOTRADE COMPARES TO TRADITIONAL PROP FIRMS
Most prop firms use a trailing maximum drawdown, meaning your risk floor rises every time your account makes a new equity high, which quietly tightens your room for error the more successful you become. Velotrade uses a static maximum drawdown instead, so the floor is locked in from your starting balance on day one and never moves, regardless of how much profit you bank. This makes it far easier to plan your risk in advance rather than recalculating it every session.
The same applies to consistency rules. A large number of prop firms cap how much of your total profit can come from a single day, which forces traders to artificially slow down after a strong session. Velotrade has no consistency rule at all, so a big winning day counts in full toward your target instead of being discounted. Combined with no fixed maximum risk per trade and no evaluation time limit, the overall rule set gives traders more control over how they manage risk than the industry standard two phase model most firms still run on.
FUNDING PROGRAMS
Velotrade offers three evaluation routes, all tradable on the same DXtrade platform, with account sizes from $5,000 to $200,000.
- CLASSIC 2 Step: two phase evaluation, lower entry fees, 10% static max drawdown
- CLASSIC 1 Step: single phase evaluation, faster route to funding, 7% static max drawdown
- PRO 1 Step: single phase evaluation, tightest drawdown at 3%, available up to $200,000
HOW TO CLAIM YOUR 25% DISCOUNT
Getting the discount takes three steps. First, pick your evaluation route, CLASSIC 2 Step, CLASSIC 1 Step or PRO 1 Step, and choose the account size that matches your available risk capital. Second, at checkout, enter the code INVEST in the promo code or discount field before completing payment. Third, confirm the reduced price is reflected in your order total before submitting, since the checkout should recalculate automatically once the code is applied. The code works across every account size and every evaluation route, so it applies whether you’re starting with a $5,000 CLASSIC account or a $200,000 PRO account.
CLASSIC 1-Step
Account Size
Price
Discounted Price
$5000
$67
$50.25
$10,000
$127
$95.25
$25,000
$290
$217.5
$50,000
$543
$407.25
$100,000
$1,075
$806.25
CLASSIC 2-Step
Account Size
Price
Discounted Price
$5000
$54
$40.5
$10,000
$100
$75
$25,000
$225
$168.75
$50,000
$419
$314.25
$100,000
$769
$576.75
Pro 1-Step
Account Size
Price
Discounted Price
$5000
$40
$30
$10,000
$74
$55.5
$25,000
$165
$123.75
$50,000
$305
$228.75
$100,000
$558
$418.5
$200,000
$1,114
$835.5
Use code INVEST to get 25% off the published price shown above. Prices and promotions can change, so it’s worth confirming the live price at checkout before publishing final figures.
CLASSIC 2 STEP ACCOUNT RULES
Phases: two
Phase 1 profit target: 10%
Phase 2 profit target: 5%
Daily loss limit: 5%
Maximum drawdown: 10%, static from the starting balance
Qualifying trading days required: 5 per phase, each closing with at least 0.8% realised profit
Evaluation time limit: none, the days do not need to be consecutive
Profit split once funded: 80%, or 90% with the upgrade
CLASSIC 1 STEP ACCOUNT RULES
Phases: one
Profit target: 10%
Daily loss limit: 4%
Maximum drawdown: 7%, static from the starting balance
Qualifying trading days required: 5, each closing with at least 0.8% realised profit
Evaluation time limit: none
Profit split once funded: 80%, or 90% with the upgrade
PRO 1 STEP ACCOUNT RULES
Phases: one
Profit target: 10%
Daily loss limit: 3%
Maximum drawdown: 3%, static from the starting balance
Qualifying trading days required: 5, each closing with at least 0.8% realised profit
Evaluation time limit: none
Profit split once funded: 80%, or 90% with the upgrade
Use code “INVEST” to get 25% OFF on all plans.
PROFIT TARGETS AND RISK LIMITS IN DOLLARS
Percentages are easier to plan around once you see them as actual dollar figures. Here’s what each rule looks like in practice, by account size.
CLASSIC 2 Step
$5,000 account: Phase 1 target $500, Phase 2 target $250, daily loss limit $250, max drawdown $500
$10,000 account: Phase 1 target $1,000, Phase 2 target $500, daily loss limit $500, max drawdown $1,000
$25,000 account: Phase 1 target $2,500, Phase 2 target $1,250, daily loss limit $1,250, max drawdown $2,500
$50,000 account: Phase 1 target $5,000, Phase 2 target $2,500, daily loss limit $2,500, max drawdown $5,000
$100,000 account: Phase 1 target $10,000, Phase 2 target $5,000, daily loss limit $5,000, max drawdown $10,000
CLASSIC 1 Step
$5,000 account: profit target $500, daily loss limit $200, max drawdown $350
$10,000 account: profit target $1,000, daily loss limit $400, max drawdown $700
$25,000 account: profit target $2,500, daily loss limit $1,000, max drawdown $1,750
$50,000 account: profit target $5,000, daily loss limit $2,000, max drawdown $3,500
$100,000 account: profit target $10,000, daily loss limit $4,000, max drawdown $7,000
PRO 1 Step
$5,000 account: profit target $500, daily loss limit $150, max drawdown $150
$10,000 account: profit target $1,000, daily loss limit $300, max drawdown $300
$25,000 account: profit target $2,500, daily loss limit $750, max drawdown $750
$50,000 account: profit target $5,000, daily loss limit $1,500, max drawdown $1,500
$100,000 account: profit target $10,000, daily loss limit $3,000, max drawdown $3,000
$200,000 account: profit target $20,000, daily loss limit $6,000, max drawdown $6,000
EVALUATION MODEL
Every Velotrade plan runs on the same basic model. You purchase a challenge, then trade a simulated account using real market data until you hit the profit target for that phase, while staying within the daily loss limit and the static maximum drawdown. Each phase also requires 5 qualifying trading days, meaning 5 separate days where you close with at least 0.8% realised profit. There’s no overall time limit, so those days don’t need to be consecutive and you’re never rushed against a countdown clock.
Once you clear every phase of your chosen plan, you move to a funded account and keep 80% of the profits you generate, or 90% with the profit split upgrade. Your first payout becomes available 14 calendar days after your first funded trade, once you’ve completed 5 qualifying trading days on the funded account itself. After that, payout requests can be made weekly, with a $100 minimum and processing committed to within 24 hours of approval. The first two payouts are capped at 20 times your original challenge fee each. From the third payout onward, there’s no cap, and withdrawals are a full withdrawal of your available balance.
PLATFORM AND TECHNOLOGY
Trading platform: DXtrade
Trading environment: simulated trading using real market data
API access: included at every account size
Expert Advisors: permitted within the rules
Bots and algorithms: permitted within the rules
Markets in one account: crypto, forex, stocks, indices and commodities
Account sizes: $5,000 to $200,000
Combined funded capital limit: $200,000
TRADING RULES: WHAT'S ALLOWED AND WHAT'S NOT
Permitted: news trading, overnight trading and holding, weekend trading and holding on supported markets, Expert Advisors, trading bots, algorithmic strategies, API connected systems, hedging within the same account, and genuine scalping or swing trading.
Not permitted: copy trading between different traders, hedging across different accounts, platform or latency exploitation, arbitrage based on price feed discrepancies, tick scalping designed to exploit latency, abusive high frequency trading, grid trading without genuine market analysis, account sharing, trading on insider or non public information, and any activity that doesn’t represent genuine trading skill.
LEVERAGE & MARKET ACCESS
Leverage is the same across CLASSIC and PRO plans, with separate figures for the Challenge and Funded stages. Forex majors trade at up to 50x on the Challenge and 30x once funded. Forex minors go up to 30x on the Challenge and 20x funded, forex exotics sit at 20x on the Challenge and 10x funded. Bitcoin offers up to 10x on the Challenge and 5x funded, Ethereum and Solana up to 6x on the Challenge and 5x funded, mid cap crypto up to 3x on the Challenge and 2x funded, and other crypto pairs stay at 2x on both stages. Index ETFs and commodities offer up to 6x on the Challenge and 5x funded, and single stocks offer up to 5x on the Challenge and 3x funded.
Crypto, single stocks, indices and commodities are tradable 24/7. Forex runs from Sunday 21:05 UTC to Friday 20:55 UTC with a brief daily break. Commission is charged per side, ranging from 0.004% of notional on forex to 0.03% on crypto, stocks and indices, with 0.01% on commodities. Overnight charges apply nightly across all instruments at 0.05% of notional, with forex charged at three times the usual rate on Wednesdays
SINGLE STOCK EVENT RULES
Single stock positions can be subject to restrictions around earnings releases, ex dividend dates and corporate actions. Traders are responsible for monitoring the relevant corporate calendar and following the current instrument rules, since these events can affect open positions on individual equities.
IS SECURING CAPITAL FROM VELOTRADE ACHIEVABLE?
A few of Velotrade’s rules make the path to funding more forgiving than many prop firms. There’s no time limit on either phase, no consistency rule penalizing a strong day, and no fixed maximum risk per trade, so you’re not boxed into a rigid position sizing formula. The drawdown is also static rather than trailing, meaning your floor is fixed from the start and doesn’t tighten as your balance grows, which makes it easier to plan around.
That said, the profit targets are real. CLASSIC 2 Step requires 10% in Phase 1 and 5% in Phase 2, while CLASSIC 1 Step and PRO 1 Step each require a single 10% target. The daily loss limits on the tighter PRO 1 Step account, 3% daily loss and 3% max drawdown, leave very little room for error, so that route suits disciplined, lower risk traders more than aggressive ones. The 5 qualifying trading day requirement per phase also means you can’t pass in a single lucky session, you need to demonstrate profitability across multiple separate days.
PROOF OF PAYMENTS
Velotrade settles every completed payout in USDC or USDT on the Arbitrum public chain, which means transactions aren’t just claimed, they can be independently checked on Arbiscan. The firm also maintains a public payouts page showing completed trader payout certificates, giving traders and reviewers a way to verify activity beyond taking the company’s word for it.
TRADER FEEDBACK ON VELOTRADE
Because Velotrade only launched in March 2026, independent trader feedback is still limited. As of this writing, the firm holds a 4.0 out of 5 TrustScore on Trustpilot, rated “Great”, based on 8 reviews. That’s a small sample size given how new the platform is, so it’s worth treating early sentiment as a starting point rather than a definitive verdict, and revisiting this section as more traders complete challenges and share their experience.
IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS
Five qualifying trading days are required for each evaluation phase and before the first funded payout. The first payout request becomes available after 14 calendar days from the first funded trade. The first and second payouts are limited to 20 times the Challenge fee. Overnight funding charges apply on every instrument. Certain single stock events require positions to be closed or come with added restrictions. All trading takes place in a simulated environment using real market data rather than live market execution.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Who leads Velotrade?
Velotrade is led by co-founders Gianluca Pizzituti, Chief Executive Officer, and Vittorio De Angelis, Executive Chairman. Together, they bring more than 50 years of experience across institutional derivatives trading, proprietary HFT, capital markets risk management, brokerage and financial technology, with careers spanning Dresdner Kleinwort, JP Morgan and Bank of America, alongside building and operating the original Velotrade fintech business in Hong Kong.
Why does the founders' experience matter?
It’s directly relevant to the product. It combines trading judgement, risk management, technology and financial services operations within the active leadership team, and shapes how Velotrade approaches rules, risk, technology and payout transparency.
Is the maximum drawdown trailing?
No. Every current Velotrade plan uses static maximum drawdown. The floor is calculated from the starting balance and does not move upward with profits.
Does Velotrade have a consistency rule?
No. There is no consistency rule limiting how profits must be distributed across trading days.
Is there a maximum risk per trade?
No. Velotrade does not impose a fixed maximum percentage per trade. Daily loss and maximum drawdown limits continue to apply.
Can traders trade news events?
Yes. News trading is permitted. Traders remain responsible for staying within the applicable equity limits.
Can positions be held overnight or through weekends?
Yes, subject to the rules and availability of the relevant instrument. Overnight funding charges apply.
Which markets trade 24/7?
Crypto, single stocks, indices and commodities are available 24/7. Forex is available 24 hours a day, five days a week.
Are automated strategies allowed?
Yes. Expert Advisors, trading bots, algorithmic strategies and API connected systems are supported when they comply with the published rules.
How can payouts be verified?
Completed payouts are settled on the Arbitrum public chain. Transactions can be verified through Arbiscan and the Velotrade payouts page.
What is the highest available account size?
PRO 1 Step is available up to $200,000. CLASSIC plans are available up to $100,000.
PROS AND CONS OF VELOTRADE
Pros: active founder leadership with genuine institutional trading and risk management backgrounds, static rather than trailing maximum drawdown, no consistency rule, no maximum risk per trade, no evaluation time limit, full API access included at every account size, publicly verifiable payouts on Arbitrum, and a profit split of up to 90%.
Cons: the platform only launched in March 2026, so its independent review history is still limited to a small number of Trustpilot reviews. The PRO 1 Step plan’s 3% daily loss limit and 3% maximum drawdown leave very little margin for error compared to the CLASSIC routes. Overnight charges apply on every instrument, and forex overnight costs triple on Wednesdays, which can add up for traders who regularly hold positions. Single stock positions also carry added restrictions around earnings releases, ex dividend dates and corporate actions that traders need to actively monitor.
CONCLUSION
Velotrade’s biggest selling point is its leadership. Gianluca Pizzituti and Vittorio De Angelis aren’t advisors lending their names to a prop firm, they’re the active CEO and Executive Chairman, with real institutional trading, risk management and brokerage backgrounds, with real institutional trading, risk management and brokerage backgrounds. The original Velotrade business, built by the same founders, paid more than $2.5 billion to clients worldwide. On top of that, the firm offers static drawdown, no consistency rule, no max risk per trade, full API access, and payouts that can be verified on chain rather than taken on faith.
The tradeoff is that it’s a young company with a small independent review base so far, and the PRO 1 Step plan’s tight 3% limits demand real discipline. For traders who want a multi asset account with fair, transparent rules and are comfortable being early adopters, Velotrade is a strong option, especially with 25% off using code INVEST.
Use code “INVEST” to get 25% OFF on all plans.
