Table of contents
Quick answer
The5ers bans exploitative execution and external coordination. It does not impose a blanket ban on copying a trader's own accounts. Read the exact category and the exact exception together.
Which source owns the rule set?
The current Prohibited Trading Practices page applies to both evaluation and funded accounts. It is the broad owner. Separate FAQs refine own-account copying and EA conditions, so one sentence cannot safely summarize every program.
Which practices are currently prohibited?
- Price-discrepancy or system-glitch exploitation and arbitrage.
- High-frequency trading, tick scalping, rollover exploitation and excessive server requests.
- Bulk trading and bracketing pending orders around high-impact news.
- Trade coordination or copying with other traders, shared signals and third-party EAs reproducing the same trades.
- Hedge and reverse arbitrage, including manipulative cross-operator positions.
- Account sharing, reselling, account-management or “pass your challenge” services.
- Artificially distributing profit across days without distributing market risk.
- Provider EAs where the trader does not own the source code.
When is own-account copying allowed?
The CFD own-account FAQ says a trader may copy their own trades across their own accounts. Multiple Bootcamp accounts must use different strategies. The Futures own-account FAQ separately allows copying between a trader's own Futures accounts.
That permission does not extend to another person, shared signals, managed accounts or a third-party strategy network.
Are EAs automatically allowed?
No. The current rule set restricts third-party copying, specified HFT/arbitrage behavior, hidden stops where a visible stop is required, EAs without owned source code and robots that overload the server with requests. Document source-code ownership, signal origin and execution behavior before use.
Why does bulk trading need its own check?
The official definition is broad: multiple trades opened simultaneously, with a manual-or-automated example. It gives no safe numeric threshold. Read the bulk-trading owner and obtain written support confirmation for multi-order workflows.
What can happen after a breach?
The current owner says The5ers may terminate the relationship, suspend or restrict access, refuse refunds or profits and permanently ban the trader. That is why a generic “my strategy is normal” assumption is weaker than an exact written answer about the setup.
Which distinctions prevent rule mixing?
Own accounts or another trader?
Own-account copying has an explicit allowance; external coordination does not.
Manual or automated?
Both can fall under a prohibited category depending on the pattern.
One program or several?
Bootcamp and Futures publish specific copying conditions.
EA ownership or EA behavior?
Both matter: source-code ownership does not excuse prohibited execution.
The bottom line
Map the exact strategy to the exact category, account owner and signal source. If the public rule does not resolve the setup, get support confirmation before trading. Then use the payout owner to understand the economics that remain conditional on compliance.
Where to go next
The most useful next decision from this page.