Prohibited Trading Practices

PTP.1.1 Trade it like your own money

Use responsible, sustainable strategies with sound risk management — exactly as you would if the capital were yours in a real market.

PTP.1.2 Your results must be replicable

Your trading must show consistent profitability across a meaningful number of trades, using an approach that could be repeated in real markets — not one that depends on luck or a single outcome. Do not materially change your asset classes, margin utilisation or risk exposure between the Challenge and Funded phases (PTP.2.9).

PTP.1.3 The list is not exhaustive

The categories in this Part are examples, not a complete catalogue. We assess trading behaviour as a whole, across all of your accounts.

PTP.1.4 No working around the intent

Activity that is designed to get around the purpose of these rules is itself a prohibited practice — even if every individual limit was technically observed.

PTP.1.5 Applicability to 2-Step Fly and 1-Step Fly

The prohibited trading practices outlined in this section apply to 2-Step Fly Phase 1 and Phase 2 and 1-Step Fly only. They do not apply to the 2-Step Fly, 1-Step Fly (Sim. Funded) Direct Fly Account.

PTP.2.1 What we mean by “gambling”

Gambling is trading on chance or hope instead of analysis and controlled risk. Trading and gambling both involve risk — the difference is that a trader uses analysis, a defined maximum loss and a repeatable plan, while a gambler bets and hopes. Behaviour that looks like gambling — excessive margin, overleveraging, layered buy-and-sell orders to catch swings, or high-risk trades without any analysis — is strictly prohibited. The most common forms are set out below; each one is banned on its own.

PTP.2.2 Grid trading and layered speculative orders

Placing several buy and sell orders at different price levels above and below the current price, to catch whatever short-term swings happen, is prohibited. There is no analysis behind the entries, and one strong move in a single direction can trigger many losses at once. The same applies when your account’s overall result depends materially on a single trade or isolated outcome — that is speculation, not a strategy.

PTP.2.3 Excessive use of margin

Hola Prime expects traders to maintain responsible use of leverage and margin. Trading activity involving excessive margin usage or overleveraging may be considered a prohibited trading practice. Excessive margin usage or overleveraging may include:

Repeatedly utilising disproportionately high levels of available margin relative to the account size;

Maintaining unusually high margin utilisation across one or multiple open positions;

Creating excessive leveraged exposure through multiple positions in the same or correlated instruments; or

Repeatedly increasing position sizes or opening additional positions in a manner that results in excessive overall margin utilisation.

PTP.2.4 All-in and all-or-nothing trades

Staking most of the account — or the whole outcome of the account — on one position, one day, or one market call is gambling regardless of how confident you feel. Betting big without a stop-loss because the market “must” move your way is the classic version (see also one-sided betting, PTP.5).

PTP.2.5 Trading without analysis

Continuously buying or selling an instrument while ignoring technical signals, economic data and fundamental news is betting with an unfavourable risk-reward profile, and it is prohibited.

PTP.2.6 Gap trading

Opening trades to gamble on a price gap is prohibited in two situations: (a) when major global news, macroeconomic events, or corporate reports and earnings that could move the relevant market are scheduled; and (b) within 2 hours before a market closes for 2 hours or longer. In real markets these moments carry unpredictable, unfavourable outcomes — betting on the gap is not a replicable strategy.

PTP.2.7 Unusual position sizing

Opening positions substantially larger — or a substantially larger or smaller number of positions — than your own normal pattern, on this or any other of your accounts, is treated as a non-replicable, speculative practice.

PTP.2.8 Chasing losses (revenge trading)

Increasing your position size after a loss to “win it back” is one of the fastest ways to destroy an account, and it is prohibited. Accept losses as part of trading, stick to your plan, and step away when emotions take over. The systematic version of this behaviour — martingale and averaging down — is separately banned in PTP.3.

PTP.2.9 Inconsistent trading between Challenge and Funded

The strategy you used to pass the Challenge is your proven strategy, and your Funded Account is granted on the basis of it. It is therefore prohibited to:

pass the Challenge with an Expert Advisor, algorithm or bot and then switch to manual trading on the Funded Account — or the other way round;

trade particular asset classes, symbols, margin levels or risk profiles in the Challenge and then materially change them — different asset classes, much higher margin, much higher risk — on the Funded Account;

make sudden, drastic changes in trade or contract size with no strategic basis, especially to manipulate payouts or the evaluation. Sensible adjustments are fine — sizing down in volatile markets or scaling up gradually as the balance grows is a consistent approach.

PTP.2.10 What happens

Gambling-style trading is a prohibited practice: it is a hard breach and can trigger the risk-mitigation actions in PTP.11 — including cutting your risk-per-idea limit to 1% — and enrollment in the Prime Consistency Programme (PCP.1).

PTP.3.1 Martingale

Doubling — or otherwise increasing — your position size after losses in order to recover them is strictly prohibited. It turns one manageable loss into an account-ending sequence.

PTP.3.2 Averaging down and DCA

Dollar-cost averaging into a losing trade, averaging down, or systematically adding exposure to a losing position in any form is strictly prohibited and treated as a violation of the trading rules.

PTP.4.1 Hyperactivity

An unusually high volume of rapid, quick-succession trading — including constant modifications to stop-loss, take-profit or limit orders — is prohibited, especially where it ends up putting the entire (or almost the entire) account balance at risk. Overtrading also racks up costs and drives emotional decisions.

PTP.4.2 Tick scalping and HFT

Using sophisticated Expert Advisors, algorithms and fast connections to profit from tiny price fluctuations by firing a high volume of trades in a short time is prohibited. It risks market manipulation, strains liquidity, and creates unfair pricing for other traders.

PTP.4.3 Consequences

We may issue warnings, restrict trades or lot sizes, reduce risk limits, or terminate the account (PTP.11).

PTP.5.1 The rule

Repeatedly taking positions in only one direction — only buys, or only sells — without proper market evaluation or analysis is prohibited. It is highly speculative and leaves the account exposed to a single adverse move.

PTP.6.1 The rule

Exploiting price-feed discrepancies within the platform, technical glitches, or price differences and delays across marketplaces or platforms — to profit without genuine market risk or fair analysis — is prohibited as an unethical practice that works against fair market conditions.

PTP.6.2 What counts as arbitrage

This includes, among others: latency arbitrage (exploiting price-feed delays); long-short and reverse arbitrage; opposite trading across accounts; and hedge arbitrage — simultaneously entering opposing positions with different firms. Any pattern of trading that exploits feed delays, execution inefficiencies or short-lived discrepancies — rather than taking genuine market exposure — falls under this rule.

PTP.7.1 Allowed — within one account

Holding buy and sell trades in the same instrument inside a single account is allowed.

PTP.7.2 Prohibited — across accounts

Opening buy and sell trades in the same instrument across multiple accounts, or as a group, is prohibited. So is coordinated “partnership” trading — placing the same or opposite trades in the same time windows as other people.

PTP.8.1 Where it is allowed

Copy trading is permitted between Hola Prime accounts only where all participating accounts are registered to and owned by the same individual. There are no restrictions on copy trading between Challenge Accounts. For Hola Prime (Sim. Funded) Accounts, copy trading is restricted to a maximum of one Master Account and one Copier Account.

PTP.8.2 Prohibited

Copying trades from accounts held with other proprietary trading firms to Hola Prime accounts is strictly prohibited, as is copying between Hola Prime accounts owned by different people — relatives, family, friends, or paid service providers. Any activity exceeding the permitted limits is a violation of these rules and may breach the accounts involved.

PTP.8.3 When this applies

The one Master Account and one Copier Account limit applies to all accounts purchased on or after 15 September 2026.

PTP.8.4 Group trading and signal services

If a sizable portion of your trades are identical to another trader’s — matching opening price, closing price, lot size, lot ratio, symbols and so on — that is treated as copy trading. It can also indicate group trading, signal services or account-passing services, none of which are allowed. In that case, all associated accounts are immediately terminated.

PTP.8.5 Third-party copiers

If you use a third-party copier between your own accounts, it is your responsibility to make sure trades — and all their limits — copy correctly. Hola Prime does not support or answer for external copier tools.

PTP.9.1 Where EAs may be used

Traders may use third-party Expert Advisors (EAs), trading bots, algorithms, and automated trading systems only on MT5, provided the EA Trading add-on has been purchased (FEE.3). EA usage is not permitted on cTrader, Match-Trader, TradeLocker or on Hola Prime (Sim. Funded) Accounts issued under the Direct Model, unless expressly permitted for a specific product.

PTP.9.2 Any compliant EA

Traders may use any EA or trading bot on an eligible MT5 account, provided it complies with Hola Prime’s Trading Rules and does not engage in prohibited activities. Traders must customise their EA settings so their trading activity remains sufficiently distinct from that of other traders.

PTP.9.3 Prohibited uses

EAs must not be used for activities such as copy trading based on another person’s signals or trading activity, tick scalping, latency arbitrage, reverse arbitrage, hedge arbitrage, HFT, emulator-based systems, or any other prohibited trading activity.

PTP.9.4 Declaring your strategy

Traders must declare the strategy used by their EA when their Funded Account is issued and notify Hola Prime of any material change to the EA or its strategy.

PTP.9.5 Shared EAs and capital allocation

As third-party EAs may be used by multiple traders, accounts using identical or highly similar EA strategies or configurations may be grouped and subject to a combined maximum capital allocation, even where the accounts belong to different traders or profiles.

PTP.9.6 Reviews and technical issues

Hola Prime may request information about an EA, including its name, configuration, logic, or source code, for review and verification. If an EA causes platform hyperactivity, excessive order activity, or other technical issues, traders may be required to adjust the EA. Continued use of an EA that causes technical or operational issues may result in restrictions or termination of the account.

PTP.9.7 Identical configurations

If two or more traders are found using identical or near-identical EA configurations, Hola Prime may, at its discretion:

Deny approval of Hola Prime (Sim. Funded) Accounts;

Rebalance existing Hola Prime (Sim. Funded) Accounts; or

Terminate one or more related accounts.

PTP.9.8 EAs used for prohibited activity

Any account found using an EA or automated system for prohibited activities may be cancelled and permanently banned, and associated fees or payments will be non-refundable.

PTP.9.9 Position sizers and risk tools

Third-party position sizers, risk calculators, and similar tools are permitted only as analytical or informational tools. They must not automatically execute, modify, or close trades or automatically modify SL, TP, position size, or other order parameters.

PTP.9.10 No exemptions

The use of an EA does not exempt a trader or account from any applicable trading restrictions, risk limits, or prohibited trading practices.

PTP.10.1 The rule

Account Rolling means buying multiple evaluation accounts in a short period and deliberately letting some fail — taking high-risk, aggressive trades on each to see which ones pass. It is a high-risk behaviour that can lead to enrolment in the Prime Consistency Programme (PCP) and to the risk-mitigation actions in PTP.11.

PTP.11.1 Graduated measures

Where prohibited or high-risk behaviour is identified on one or more of your accounts, Hola Prime may, depending on severity: issue a warning; restrict the number of trades or lot sizes; add extra risk limits or; reduce your profit share; cut the per-Trade-Idea risk limit to 1%; remove conflicting positions or rebalance the account; nullify the effect of offending trades; or terminate the account and end the relationship — temporarily or permanently.

PTP.11.2 How you will know

Any change to your risk limits is communicated through official channels.

PTP.11.3 Relationship to breaches

Using a prohibited practice is a hard breach: simulated profits and pending rewards are forfeited (BRC.2 and PAY.10), and no refund is due (FEE.6). Before any Funded Account is issued, the Risk Management Team reviews your challenge trading — if it finds prohibited trading, the Funded Account is not issued.