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How to choose your futures program

The Short Answer

Upcomers Futures launches with three programs. Pick Thunderbolt Classic if you day trade and want the fastest route to funded (a one-day pass). Pick Thunderbolt Legacy if you hold trades overnight and over the weekend and want the widest daily drawdown room (3%). Pick Vanguard if you want to skip the evaluation and start funded from day one.


The three programs at a glance

All three are futures programs traded on the DXtrade platform. They differ in how you get funded, how the drawdown works, and how long you trade before your first payout. Every funded account keeps the same 99% profit split and the same $100 minimum payout.

Feature

Thunderbolt Classic

Thunderbolt Legacy

Vanguard

Funding path

1-step evaluation

1-step evaluation

Instant funding (no evaluation)

Best for

Day traders

Swing traders

Traders who want to start funded now

Overnight holding

Yes

Yes

Yes

Weekend holding

No

Yes

No

Daily drawdown (funded)

2% (reset 5:00 PM ET)

3% (reset 5:00 PM ET)

2% (reset 5:00 PM ET)

Trailing drawdown (funded)

4% real-time + lock

4% real-time + lock

3% real-time + lock

Profit target

6%

6%

None (funded from day one)

Minimum days

1 (one-day pass)

5

5

Best Day Rule

20%

30%

20%

Largest account

$400K

$400K

$300K

First payout

Anytime once conditions are met

After 5 trading days, once conditions are met

After 5 qualifying trading days (0.5% profit each), once conditions are met


Evaluation vs instant funding

The first choice is whether you want to prove yourself on a challenge or start funded right away.

Thunderbolt Classic and Legacy are one-step evaluations. You trade a challenge account, hit the 6% profit target while staying inside the drawdown rules, and then you get funded.

Vanguard is instant funding. There is no challenge and no profit target to clear. You start on a funded account and follow the funded rules from your first trade.


Day trading vs swing trading

This is the most important question for most traders, because it decides how you can hold positions.

Thunderbolt Classic and Vanguard let you hold overnight but not over the weekend. Both carry a 2% daily drawdown that resets at 5:00 PM ET, the futures-industry standard reset on DXtrade. On a $100,000 account that is a $2,000 daily loss limit.

Thunderbolt Legacy is built for swing traders. You can hold overnight and over the weekend, and it carries a wider 3% daily drawdown (also resetting at 5:00 PM ET), which is $3,000 on a $100,000 account. In exchange, the minimum is 5 trading days instead of 1, and the Best Day Rule is 30% instead of 20%.


How the drawdown works on each

The trailing drawdown is our Dynamic Risk Shield™, and how it trails is one of the biggest differences between the programs.

Real-time trailing, then lock (all three programs): the trailing level follows your equity higher in real time as your balance grows, then locks permanently at your initial balance once your account grows by the trailing percentage (4% on Classic and Legacy, 3% on Vanguard). After it locks it stays static, so you can build profits without the drawdown chasing your equity. This works the same in the challenge and funded phases, and exactly like the Dynamic Risk Shield™ on our CFD accounts. There is no end-of-day trailing on any program.

Max trade loss (a hard rule): a single trade that exceeds the cap triggers an automatic breach and closes the account, even if you are overall in profit. The cap is 2% of account size on Legacy and 1.5% on Classic and Vanguard.

Here is how every limit lands on a $100,000 funded account:

Limit (on $100K)

Thunderbolt Classic

Thunderbolt Legacy

Vanguard

Daily drawdown

$2,000 (2%)

$3,000 (3%)

$2,000 (2%)

Trailing floor below peak

$4,000 (4%)

$4,000 (4%)

$3,000 (3%)

Max loss per trade

$1,500 (1.5%)

$2,000 (2%)

$1,500 (1.5%)


When you can take your first payout

Every program pays out at the 99% split with a $100 minimum (your 99% share). The conditions to request a payout are nearly identical; the difference is the 5-trading-day first-payout minimum on Legacy and Vanguard.

Thunderbolt Classic and Legacy: request a payout anytime once you have at least 1% profit since your last payout ($1,000 on a $100,000 account), all positions closed, your best day within the Best Day Rule (20% on Classic, 30% on Legacy, so on a $10,000 withdrawal your best single day must be $2,000 or less on Classic), and at least $100 to withdraw. On Legacy, your first payout also needs a minimum of 5 trading days on the funded account.

Vanguard: the same conditions apply, plus a minimum of 5 trading days before your first payout. A day only counts toward that minimum if you make at least 0.5% profit that day ($500 on a $100,000 account), and the 5 qualifying days do not have to be consecutive.

Challenge Profit Share (Classic and Legacy only): the challenge products carry a 15% bonus. Grow your funded account enough while keeping a clean payout record and you earn a bonus of 15% of your challenge-phase profit. A $5,000 challenge profit earns a $750 bonus. Vanguard has no challenge, so this bonus does not apply.


Pick this if you...

Thunderbolt Classic: you trade intraday and want the fastest route to funded (the one-day pass means as little as 1 minimum trading day), you are comfortable inside a 2% daily drawdown, and you want the largest evaluation account size ($400K).

Thunderbolt Legacy: you hold positions overnight and over the weekend, you want the widest daily drawdown room (3%), and you do not mind the 5-day minimum and the 30% Best Day Rule. Largest account size is $400K.

Vanguard: you want to skip the evaluation and start funded immediately, you are happy with a 3% trailing drawdown in return for no challenge, and you can trade a minimum of 5 trading days before your first payout. Account sizes up to $300K.


Common Questions

Which program is the fastest to funded?

Thunderbolt Classic. Its one-day pass means you can clear the 6% target in as little as 1 trading day, then move straight to a funded account.

Which one can I hold over the weekend?

Thunderbolt Legacy. It is the only program that lets you hold positions over the weekend, and it carries the widest daily drawdown room (3%, versus 2% on Classic and Vanguard).

Can I skip the evaluation?

Yes, with Vanguard. It is instant funding, so there is no challenge and no profit target. You start on a funded account and follow the funded rules from your first trade.

Can I hold trades overnight on all three?

Yes. All three allow overnight positions. Only Thunderbolt Legacy allows holding over the weekend.

Do all three pay the same?

Yes. Every funded account pays the 99% split with a $100 minimum payout. The difference between programs is the funding path and the drawdown rules, not the split.

What is the largest account I can get?

$400K on Thunderbolt Classic or Legacy, and $300K on Vanguard.


Read the full program rules

Once you have narrowed it down, read the dedicated article for that program before you buy. Each one covers the exact drawdown mechanics, examples on real account sizes, and the full payout conditions.

  • Thunderbolt Classic program rules

  • Thunderbolt Legacy program rules

  • Vanguard (Instant Funding) program rules

Still unsure which fits your style? Start a chat with our team from the help center and we will point you to the right program.

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