Ascent Futures

Single-phase evaluation with a fixed dollar profit target: The Ascent challenge requires reaching a $3,000 profit target within a 30-day window. The target is fixed in dollar terms and represents 6% of the $50,000 account size. All positions must be closed before the profit target is confirmed as reached.
Time limit of 30 days: The Ascent challenge has a hard 30-day deadline. If the $3,000 profit target is not reached within 30 days while respecting all drawdown rules, the evaluation expires and a reset fee of $125.00 applies to restart.
Minimum trading days of 2: At least 2 valid trading days are required to pass the Ascent challenge. A day counts as valid only if the trader generates a net profit of at least $200 on that day. Days where total net profit falls below $200 — regardless of how many trades were placed — do not count toward the minimum.
End-of-Day (EOD) drawdown of $2,000: The Ascent uses an EOD drawdown model. The $2,000 maximum loss limit is calculated only once per day, at the close of the trading session, based on the highest end-of-day closing balance achieved so far. Intraday spikes in equity — including unrealized profits from open positions — do not move the drawdown floor upward during the session. However, live equity including open positions must never fall below the current minimum balance at any point during the session, even intraday.
How the EOD floor moves: The current minimum balance is always the highest end-of-day closing balance achieved so far, minus $2,000. If the account closes Day 1 at $51,500, the new minimum balance becomes $49,500. If Day 2 closes flat at $51,500, the floor remains at $49,500. If Day 3 closes at $53,000, the floor rises to $51,000 and stays there permanently until a higher closing balance is reached.
Maximum contracts: Traders may hold a maximum of 2 Mini contracts and 20 Micro contracts simultaneously on a $50,000 account. Mixing Minis and Micros is allowed provided the total equivalent exposure does not exceed the maximum limit. Attempting to exceed the contract cap will have the order rejected.
No activation fee: There is no activation fee to access the funded account after passing the Ascent challenge.
Profit split: 90% to the trader across all funded account activity.
Payout structure: To be eligible for a payout, traders must complete at least 5 profitable trading days in the funded account per payout cycle, each generating a net profit of at least $200. After each payout, the 5-day counter resets and must be completed again before the next withdrawal.
Consistency rule (funded only): No single trading day may account for more than 35% of total profits accumulated in the current payout cycle. Exceeding this threshold does not breach the account but blocks payout requests until further trading dilutes the ratio below 35%. This rule does not apply during the challenge phase.
Payout buffer and cap: A required buffer of $2,100 must remain in the account after any withdrawal. The maximum payout per cycle is $2,500. The minimum payout per request is $500. To request the full $2,500 maximum payout, total profits in the cycle must reach at least $4,600 ($2,500 cap + $2,100 buffer).
Platform: BlackArrow. All challenge and funded account trading is conducted exclusively through the BlackArrow platform on CME futures markets.
EOD model is forgiving intraday but tightens with every profitable session: At $50,000, the $2,000 EOD buffer is meaningful but still limited. A trader who strings together several profitable sessions — each closing at a new high — progressively raises the floor, compressing the remaining daily breathing room even while the account is growing. Managing position size across sessions is essential to avoid locking in an uncomfortably high floor early in the challenge.
30-day time limit is the central pressure point: Reaching $3,000 in profit across at least 2 qualifying sessions within 30 days requires consistent market participation. With a maximum of 2 Mini contracts, daily profit potential is directly tied to market moves and the number of valid setups available within the session. Strategies that rely on large single-day gains must be carefully calibrated to fit within the contract cap.
Higher reset cost increases evaluation discipline: At $125.00 for a reset, failed $50,000 Ascent evaluations are significantly more expensive to restart than the $25,000 tier. This cost differential naturally incentivizes more conservative risk management during the evaluation phase, particularly in the final sessions when the target is close but the floor has already risen substantially.
35% consistency rule in funded requires session-level planning: On a $50,000 funded account, a single $875 profit day requires $2,500 in total profits before a payout request is eligible. Given the $2,500 maximum payout cap, a single strong session can represent an outsized share of total profits and block access to withdrawals until additional trading normalizes the ratio.