Is this real money?
No, and we say that louder than any other prop firm. Every account at Stampede is simulated: the challenge, the funded account, all of it. You trade a simulated balance against live market data. Two things are completely real: the fee you pay for the evaluation, and the payouts you earn from the funded account, paid under published mechanical rules.
Why simulated? Because what we're really running is a search. Traders who prove consistently good get the firm's own real capital on A-book behind them, through LHFX, straight into real liquidity. That's the prize, and it's what we're after. Simulation protects the firm from every blown account along the way, and yes, we earn evaluation fees in the meantime. We'd rather print that than pretend otherwise.
It also protects you. You risk a fee, never a balance. We never hold your money, so there's no deposit to freeze and no withdrawal to stall.
What is a prop firm?
A proprietary trading firm, in the modern retail sense, is a company that evaluates traders on simulated accounts and pays the good ones a share of the profits their trading generates. You pay a one-time fee to take a challenge: hit a profit target on a simulated account without breaking the loss rules, and you graduate to a funded account where your simulated gains convert into real payouts at a published split.
The model exists because most traders don't have $100,000 of risk capital, but plenty have skill worth paying for. A fair prop firm makes its rules mechanical and its payouts fast. An unfair one hides rules in PDFs, trails your loss floor behind your wins, and finds reasons not to pay. Our whole pitch is being the first kind, provably.
Can US traders join?
Yes. Stampede is built US-first: US traders are welcome, the platform is Match-Trader in the browser, and the challenge fee is an ordinary e-commerce checkout paid in cryptocurrency, not a broker deposit.
How do payouts work?
Request a payout on demand, any time after your first profitable trade on the funded account. The minimum is $50. The split is 80/20 standard. The one add-on takes it to 90/10 for the life of the account, for 20% on top of the challenge fee, at checkout only.
Processing is same day: our team pays brokerage withdrawals for a living, and Stampede runs on the same standard. Payouts are sent in USDC and land in minutes, with no US bank account needed. There are no payout caps, no consistency rules, and no winning-day gates. Nobody at Stampede has a discretion button.
What does a challenge cost?
Sizes run $5K to $200K across three plans. Sprint Turbo, the price-led one-step trim, starts at $39 for $5K and runs to $799 for $200K. Classic, the two-step plan with the most room per dollar, runs $55 to $549 and tops out at $100K, because nobody sane sells the most forgiving drawdown at the biggest size. Sprint, the one-step plan with the full buffer, runs $69 to $1,290. One fee, paid once. And on Classic, pass and the whole fee comes back with your first funded payout.
What markets can I trade?
FX majors and minors, gold and metals, indices, oil, and crypto, on every plan. Most US-welcome props are crypto-only or futures-only; Stampede inherits the full market coverage of the team's brokerage. Leverage runs 1:30 on FX, scaled down by asset class, the same on evaluation and funded, with the final matrix published alongside the platform contract.
What are the drawdown rules?
Two rules, both printed on the how-it-works page. A max daily loss measured from the previous day close, and a max total loss that is static: one fixed floor measured from your starting balance, for the life of the account. It never trails up behind you when you win.
There's no third rule. No consistency requirements, no minimum winning days, no time limits.
Do you offer instant funding?
Yes. Stampede Instant skips the evaluation entirely: pay the fee, get a funded simulated account the minute you check out. Sizes are $2.5K for $59, $5K for $129, and $10K for $229, with an 80% split from day one and 6% end-of-day trailing drawdown. Above $10K, take the challenge ladder.
What is the refund policy?
Three parts. You can cancel for a full refund within 24 hours of purchase if you have not placed a trade. Once you trade, the fee is final on failure, because the evaluation has been delivered. And on Classic only, passing brings the whole fee back: it is added on top of your first funded payout. The full policy, including how chargebacks are handled, is on the refund policy page.
Who runs Stampede?
Stampede is operated by Stampede Ltd, a Cyprus company (registration number HE 494949), and built by the team behind LHFX, a real-money brokerage. That lineage is the point: the payout rails, the liquidity relationships, and the path from simulated performance to the firm's real capital all exist because a real brokerage stands behind the brand.
To be precise about the line between the two: LHFX is a separate brand and a real-money brokerage that does not serve US persons. Stampede is a separate service, simulated by design, that welcomes US traders.
What platform do challenges run on?
Match-Trader, in the browser, with TradingView-style charting. No installs required. Not MT5, and that is deliberate.
When do challenges open?
Now. Pick your size and plan, pay the one-time fee, and start trading your evaluation. Checkout is guest-friendly, so you do not need an account to begin.
