Eightcap Challenges

Yes. On One Phase, Two Phase, or Day Trader, you can run EAs on MT4, MT5, or TradeLocker. That said, the terms state clearly: "once external software (an EA) is enabled, the user bears responsibility for all trades executed through that interface," and "executed positions are all final; there is no manual reversal or account restoration for accounts failed due to an error in automated or semi-automated trading." We found no requirement in the terms to submit source code or prove the EA is self-made.

The prohibited-strategies table has a line item "High Frequency Trading (HFT): automated algorithmic trading that executes a large volume of orders artificially fast," and it's marked "allowed." That's unusual for the industry. However, a separate item, "tick-scalping (high-frequency, ultra-short-term trades targeting tiny price movements)," is banned, as is latency arbitrage. So the line they seem to be drawing is: "speed itself isn't the problem, but exploiting price discrepancies or feed delays is." The boundary is fuzzy, so it's safest to avoid tick-level logic.

Martingale is explicitly banned. It's defined as "trading behavior that progressively, aggressively, or exponentially increases, or maintains, position size after a loss (realized or floating)" - written broadly enough to include "maintains." Grid trading is separately banned as "placing orders at fixed intervals around a reference price." Even same-lot averaging down could arguably be read as "maintaining," so it's safest to avoid split-entry EAs on Eightcap Challenges.

It's called "Profit Distribution" and applies at the Payout Stage (withdrawal stage). The cap on how much of your withdrawal request can come from a single day's profit is 30% for One Phase and 35% for Two Phase. Note that accounts opened before February 11, 2026 use 25%/30% instead - the figures change depending on your account's creation date. It doesn't apply during the evaluation phase.

One Phase is 4% daily / 8% max; Two Phase is 5% daily / 10% max. Max loss is a fixed percentage (static) of the initial balance and doesn't move with withdrawals. Daily is "previous day's balance × the cap%," and you fail if that day's equity loss exceeds it (per Rules V2.3, dated September 21, 2026, confirmed September 27, 2026). We calculate the one-year expected value in Eightcap Challenges expected value.

Two Phase changed as of February 23, 2026: accounts opened before that date use Assessment 10% → Qualification 8%, and those opened after use Assessment 9% → Qualification 5%. Buying now gets you the latter. The consistency rule also changed its figures on February 11, 2026 - this firm runs with rules that vary by your account's creation date. Check your dashboard to see which set of conditions your account has.

A short 1-8 hour challenge that launched in November 2025. You pick your stake ($5-$500), session length (1, 2, 4, or 8 hours), and payout multiplier (2x, 5x, or 10x); hit the target within the time limit on a $10,000 simulated account and you get your stake paid out at that multiplier, same-day. The profit target and max DD vary with the combination you chose (e.g., a $190 stake at 2x has a $56 target and $28 max DD). News restriction is 5 minutes either side. Reviews include criticism calling it "nearly impossible" and "structured gambling," so treat it as something to try with small amounts.

We can't say for certain. Japan is not on the restricted-country list in the Challenges terms (Rules and Conditions V2.3, dated September 21, 2026, confirmed September 27, 2026). On the other hand, there's third-party information saying that parent Eightcap's broker accounts don't accept Japanese residents. Since Challenges trades on simulated accounts and isn't a regulated service, it may be treated differently, but we haven't been able to confirm whether purchasing from Japan is allowed. We strongly recommend confirming directly with support@challenges.eightcap.com before buying. There's no Japanese site or Japanese support.

As of September 10, 2026, the eightcap.com Trustpilot page shows "rating unavailable due to guideline violations" (3,899 reviews, 71% 5-star, 13% 1-star). The "4.1 / 3,300+" figure quoted on third-party review sites appears to be a cache from before this suspension. Also note this page belongs to the broker itself - we couldn't find a Trustpilot page specific to Challenges. Negative content covers the difficulty of Day Trader Challenges, trouble caused by misunderstanding the drawdown calculation, canned support replies, KYC hassle, and withdrawal delays and fees.

No. The terms state "the fee becomes non-refundable once the account is opened and trading technology use has begun," making a refund available only if you never started at all. Day Trader's FAQ is even more explicit: "all purchases are final, and challenge fees are not refunded." This differs from other firms' setups where the fee is refunded on passing, so treat the price as a straight cost.