The short answer
Upcomers currently offers three Perpetuals programs: Thunderbolt Classic (one-step), Phoenix Classic (two-step), and Vanguard Classic (instant funding). The comparison table below covers each program's full rule set.
They share the same engine you already know: daily drawdown reset at 00:00 UTC, a maximum drawdown floor, a max single trade loss on funded accounts, and the Best Day Rule at 20% on the payout.
Master comparison
Thunderbolt Classic | Phoenix Classic | Vanguard Classic | |
Structure | 1 challenge phase, then funded | 2 challenge phases, then funded | Instant funding |
Profit target | 6% | 5% then 5% | None |
Daily drawdown | 3% | 3.5% | 3% |
Maximum drawdown | 6% trailing | 6% fixed | 7% trailing |
Max single trade loss (funded) | 2% | 2% | 1.5% |
Minimum trading days before payout | None | None | 6 (each ≥0.5% profit) |
Best Day Rule | 20% | 20% | 20% |
Account sizes | $5,000 to $400,000 | $10,000 to $400,000 | $2,000 to $400,000 |
Starting price | $159 | $139 | $159 |
All three are available in USD, EUR and GBP.
Thunderbolt Classic
One challenge phase and then a funded account. Reach a 6% profit target without breaking the drawdown rules and the account converts.
Daily drawdown 3%, measured from your starting equity or balance at 00:00 UTC, whichever is higher. A hard breach.
Trailing maximum drawdown 6% (Dynamic Risk Shield™). The floor follows your equity higher and never moves back down, and it locks once it reaches your starting balance. A hard breach.
Max single trade loss 2% on the funded account. A hard breach.
Best Day Rule 20% at payout. A soft rule that gates the withdrawal, never the account.
Phoenix Classic
Two challenge phases, each with a 5% profit target, then a funded account. Phoenix is the only perpetuals program with a fixed maximum drawdown rather than a trailing one, so your floor never moves at all.
Daily drawdown 3.5%, reset at 00:00 UTC. A hard breach.
Maximum drawdown 6%, fixed below your starting balance. It does not trail your equity up, which means profit you make is never used to raise the floor. A hard breach.
Max single trade loss 2% on the funded account. A hard breach.
Best Day Rule 20% at payout.
Vanguard Classic (instant funding)
No challenge. You start on a funded account from day one, with the widest maximum drawdown of the three.
Daily drawdown 3%, reset at 00:00 UTC. A hard breach.
Trailing maximum drawdown 7%. A hard breach.
Max single trade loss 1.5%. A hard breach.
Minimum 6 trading days before your first payout request.
Best Day Rule 20% at payout.
What counts as a day on a market that never closes
This is the question perpetuals raises that no other Upcomers product does, so it is worth stating plainly. Perpetuals markets have no daily close, but your account still runs on a daily clock:
The day boundary is 00:00 UTC. At that moment the system records your starting equity or balance, whichever is higher, and your daily drawdown level for the next 24 hours is calculated from it.
A trading day is a day on which you closed at least one trade, measured on the 00:00 UTC boundary. This is the unit the Best Day Rule uses across all three programs.
Vanguard's six-day minimum adds a further condition. Each of the six days that count toward the minimum must also close with at least 0.5% profit. A day with closed trades but below the 0.5% threshold counts for the Best Day Rule but does not count toward the six-day minimum. Both the day count and the 0.5% condition reset after each payout.
Positions held across the boundary are not closed or reset. Only the level that would breach you is recalculated. A trade opened on Saturday and closed on Monday is perfectly normal here.
See Markets never close: trading 24/7 for what this means in practice.
Funding and fees count
Funding payments and trading fees both move your balance, and therefore your equity. They count toward your daily drawdown, toward your maximum drawdown, and toward your profit target and payout in exactly the same way a winning or losing trade does. See Funding rates, explained and Fees and how your order fills.
Inactivity
The standard Upcomers inactivity period of 35 consecutive days applies. Close a single trade within each 35-day window and the timer resets. See What's the period of inactivity?.
Payout eligibility
Before requesting a payout on any Perpetuals account, all of the following must be met:
At least 1% profit from your initial funded balance since your last payout, or since account start for your first. Only closed trades count. This resets after each payout.
All positions closed. No open trades at the time of the request.
Drawdown compliance. Your account must not have breached any drawdown limit.
KYC verification and Upcomers Traders Agreement signed. One-time requirements before your first payout on any account.
Minimum $45. Your share after the selected profit split must be at least $45. If not, your profits carry forward to the next segment automatically.
Challenge programs (one-step and two-step) have no additional payout requirements beyond the five conditions above.
Instant funding programs have one further requirement: a minimum of 6 trading days before each payout, and each qualifying day must close with at least 0.5% profit. Days with trades but below the 0.5% threshold do not count toward the minimum. Both the day count and the 0.5% condition reset after each payout.
Profit above the payout cap is forfeited at segment end — it does not carry forward. This applies to all Perpetuals programs regardless of type, unlike Futures where excess profit rolls into the next payout.
Payout caps
Perpetuals accounts use the same progressive cap ladder as CFD accounts. The first payout is capped, the cap rises with each successive payout, and it is removed entirely after the eighth payout. The minimum withdrawal on any payout is $45.
The cap that applies depends on your account size. See Payout Structure (CFD) for the full table. The account sizes available on Perpetuals are $2,000–$400,000 for Vanguard, $5,000–$400,000 for Thunderbolt Classic, and $10,000–$400,000 for Phoenix Classic — only those rows in the table apply to Perpetuals accounts.
These accounts are simulated
Every Upcomers Perpetuals account, challenge and funded alike, is simulated: you trade a simulated balance against real live Hyperliquid prices, and no order is sent to the exchange under your name. The payout is real money. See What are Upcomers Perpetuals?.
General Rules Notice
This product, like all Upcomers programs, is subject to our standard trading rules and policies. These include our framework on prohibited strategies and our guidelines on responsible trading and gambling-style behavior, both of which apply across all our challenges, funded accounts, and products.
We recommend reviewing both articles before you begin trading:
Prohibited strategies: https://help.upcomers.com/en/articles/8703143-what-trading-strategies-are-prohibited-at-upcomers
Rules restricting gambling: https://help.upcomers.com/en/articles/11484528-rules-restricting-gambling
Where to go next
Read Leverage and margin on perpetuals for how to size against your drawdown floor, Best Day Rule - The Complete Guide for the payout gate, and What are Upcomers Perpetuals? for the product overview, and Payout Structure (CFD) for the progressive cap amounts by account size.
Profit split note: The standard Upcomers profit split is 90%. Depending on the option selected at checkout, it can be adjusted to 80% or 100%. Changing the profit split also changes the Challenge price. The selected profit split remains linked to that account. Accounts purchased under previous conditions retain the profit split assigned at the time of purchase.