City Traders Imperium

Yes, but the conditions differ by plan. 1-Step Challenge lists "Expert Advisors: Allowed (inc. third-party)" and "Martingale: Allowed" — both off-the-shelf EAs and martingale are permitted. 2-Step Challenge, Instant Funding and Direct Funding, on the other hand, are "Personal EAs only" and "Martingale: Not Allowed." On every plan, an EA must place a visible stop loss automatically within 60 seconds of entry. If you're running an off-the-shelf EA, 1-Step is the only option.

No — you can still fail. The homepage advertises "No equity-based drawdown," but the official help center states that while the line's position is set from your confirmed balance, breaching it with a balance that includes floating losses still fails you. "Balance-based" here just means floating profit doesn't raise the line. Letting floating losses sit can also get flagged as a one-sided bet, which is subject to discretionary action.

For 1-Step, it's "5% of the initial balance, tracking your highest balance," with no daily DD. The fail line is (highest balance − your most recent withdrawal) − 5%; withdraw $3,000 at a $104,000 balance and the line becomes $96,000. 2-Step is "10% of the initial balance, static," plus a 5% daily limit (that day's opening balance minus 5% of the initial balance). Instant Funding and Direct Funding are "6% of the initial balance, static," with no daily DD (confirmed in the official help center September 27, 2026).

On 1-Step and 2-Step, you can request your first withdrawal anytime once you have 7 days of 0.5%+ profit and net profit of 2% (or $100, whichever is higher). From the 2nd on, it's only in the last 5 days of each month. On Instant/Direct, the first requires 5 profit days plus 2% net profit, and from the 2nd on it's the 14th, 15th, and last 5 days of each month. On every plan, hitting 10% cumulative profit lets you withdraw mid-month too. VIP Bronze unlocks weekly withdrawals, and Silver unlocks anytime. Review takes up to 2 business days, and wallet transfers take 1 business day.

No. The refund policy states that once you've placed even one trade, it's non-refundable. If untraded, you can request a refund within 7 days of purchase. Rebuying after a fail gets a 15% discount (Instant/Direct show a discrepancy here — the plan page says 10%, the official help center says 15%).

If you buy a $10K Instant account, you start trading with $5,000 (50% of the account size). Every time you hit 10% profit, the balance doubles, reaching the full $10,000 at level 2. The split is 50% at level 1, 70% at level 2, and 80% from level 3. You can claim the level-1 50% split once you hit the 10% target at level 2. If you want to start with the full balance from day one, that's what Direct Funding is for.

If you're running an off-the-shelf EA, 1-Step is the only choice ($100K for $449, 8% target, no daily DD, martingale allowed). But since the 5% max DD tracks your highest balance, smaller per-trade risk suits it better. In our own expected-value simulations, if you're risking around 1% per trade, 2-Step ($100K for $549, static 10% max DD) came out with a higher one-year expected value. Direct Funding is pricier at $399 for $10K and starts at a 70% split.

The official site's restricted-country list covers North Korea, Iran, Syria, Cuba, Russia, and internationally sanctioned individuals — Japan is not on it. That said, there's no Japanese site or Japanese support; support is in English only (live chat, email, Discord). We haven't personally confirmed purchasing from Japan works, so if you're unsure, try a small account first or ask support beforehand.

Trustpilot is 4.2 / 1,630 reviews (as of September 27, 2026, no rating suspension). Its 8 years of continuous payouts since founding in 2018 is the strongest point in its favor.