The short answer
E8 Markets is a Dallas prop firm, trading since 2021, that sells one-step challenges in three products: E8 One, E8 Pro and E8 Signature. E8 One and E8 Pro each come in a forex version and a Perpetual version, which trades crypto, stocks, indices, metals, energies and forex as perpetual futures on E8’s own platform. E8 Signature has no Perpetual version. List prices start at $32 for a $5,000 E8 Pro account, and every account is simulated, funded ones included.
It suits traders who want to build their own account. On E8 One and E8 Pro you pick the drawdown and the profit split at checkout, and the three products handle risk in three ways: E8 One’s loss limit follows your closed profits up, E8 Pro’s stays fixed, and E8 Signature’s is set at the end of each day. E8 Pro takes a payout request every day, and news trading is open on E8 Pro and E8 Signature.
E8 also sells futures challenges, E8 Zero Starter, E8 Zero MAX and E8 Signature Futures, from a separate site, e8futures.com, with its own checkout. That line runs under the same Terms and counts toward the grade on this page.
Two things to watch. E8 Pro removes any profit above 2% of the account in a single day and keeps half of each payout request in the account. And on every product an open loss counts against the limits, so a trade can fail the account before you close it.
How it works
Each of E8’s three products is a single challenge: hit the profit target without breaking a loss limit and the account is funded. E8 sells them from e8markets.com on two lines, Classic Markets for forex and Perpetuals, and the products set risk differently:
- E8 One’s drawdown follows your highest closed balance and locks for good at the starting balance.
- E8 Pro’s drawdown stays fixed until your first payout, then moves up to the starting balance.
- E8 Signature’s drawdown is $1,000, $2,000, $3,000 and $4,500 on $25,000 to $150,000 accounts, set at the end of each day.
- No product has a time limit, but on E8 One, E8 Pro and E8 Signature you must close at least one trade every 60 days.
- Every account is a demo account, including funded ones, using real market data.
- Forex accounts trade forex, metals, energies, indices and crypto. Perpetual accounts trade crypto, stocks, metals, energies, indices and forex as perpetual futures.
The next section sets the three side by side at $100,000. Two things sit outside that comparison: the Perpetual versions of E8 One and E8 Pro, and E8’s futures line.
What a Perpetual account is
Perpetual accounts replaced E8’s old crypto offerings. You trade perpetual futures on E8 Terminal, E8’s own platform, with prices from the Hyperliquid data feed. E8’s help center lists crypto, stocks, indices and metals, and one of its pages adds energies. As on every E8 account the capital is simulated: in E8’s words, “the data is real, the capital is not.”
E8 says the drawdowns, trading rules and payout process stay the same as on the forex version of the same product, and the list prices match too. Only E8 One and E8 Pro come in a Perpetual version. What changes is how you trade:
| Perpetual account | Forex account | |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | E8 Terminal only | TradeLocker, Match-Trader, cTrader or MetaTrader 5, by product. E8’s catalog also lists E8 Terminal |
| Cost per trade | A fee on the size of each trade: 0.045% (taker) or 0.015% (maker) on crypto, 0.009% or 0.003% on other instruments | Spreads, with a raw-spread option |
| Positions | Netting: a buy and a sell on the same instrument combine into one position | Hedging: a buy and a sell can stay open side by side |
| Swap-free option | No | Yes, on E8 One and E8 Pro |
| Leverage | 1:15 on Bitcoin and Ethereum, 1:2 on other crypto | 1:1 on crypto, 1:30 on forex |
E8 says spreads and funding rates behave as they would on a live market. The full leverage list is under platforms and trading conditions below.
E8’s futures line
Futures challenges sell under the E8Futures name from e8futures.com, with their own checkout and help center. The products on sale there are E8 Zero Starter, E8 Zero MAX and E8 Signature Futures. They trade on Tradovate only, with TradingView connected through the Tradovate account at no extra cost, on market data E8 says comes from CME. E8’s help center disables an E8 Zero account after 7 days without a closed trade, while E8 Signature Futures, like the forex and Perpetual accounts, allows 60 days between closed trades, and the free trial is not open to futures.
The grade covers that line: its prices and trading conditions are scored alongside the forex and Perpetual accounts, and the findings on E8’s Terms below apply to every E8 account.
The three futures products differ in size, price and payout cap. These are list prices on e8futures.com:
| Product | Size and price | Profit target | Maximum loss | Cap per payout |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| E8 Zero Starter | $50,000 for $178, $100,000 for $278, $200,000 for $558 | $3,000, $6,500, $13,500 | 3%, moves with your highest end-of-day balance | $1,000, $1,600, $2,100 |
| E8 Zero MAX | $50,000 for $328, $100,000 for $588, $200,000 for $1,088 | $3,000, $6,500, $13,500 | 3%, moves with your highest end-of-day balance | $3,000, $5,000, $7,000 |
| E8 Signature Futures | $25,000 for $120, $50,000 for $170, $100,000 for $280, $150,000 for $450 | 6%, $1,500 to $9,000 | $1,000, $2,000, $3,000, $4,000, moves with your highest end-of-day balance | $1,000 to $3,500, rising with the payout number, on accounts bought after 1 October 2026, 17:00 UTC |
- No futures position is held overnight. E8 Zero closes every open position at 15:10 CT and reopens at 17:15 CT, and E8 Signature Futures closes them by 23:00 server time and reopens at 00:15.
- The loss limit moves only at the close, with your highest end-of-day balance. On E8 Signature Futures it locks at the starting balance in the challenge and once funded; on E8 Zero, E8 states that lock for the funded stage.
- Four payouts per account on accounts bought after 1 October 2026, 17:00 UTC, after which the account closes and you get a free challenge of the same size. Accounts bought before then keep five payouts, and Signature Futures accounts bought before then keep the older caps, which reach $5,250 on $150,000, and a $4,500 loss limit at that size. E8’s Zero and Signature articles still mention five in places.
- E8 Zero takes a payout request every day, with a 40% best-day rule in the challenge only. E8 Signature Futures needs 5 days between payouts with realized closed profit of at least 0.3% of the account size, a best day of no more than 35% of profit, and pauses trading for the day after a 2% loss once funded.
Which E8 Markets plan should you pick?
The three products suit different traders. This is how they compare on a $100,000 forex account at list price, with E8 One at its default 6% drawdown, E8 Pro at 8% and an 80% split on both:
| $100,000 | E8 One | E8 Pro | E8 Signature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $488 | $488 | $280 |
| During the challenge | |||
| Profit target | $9,000 (9%) | $8,000 (8%) | $6,000 (6%) |
| Daily loss | $4,000 (4%) | $2,500 (2.5%) | None |
| Maximum loss | $6,000, follows your closed balance up | $8,000, fixed | $3,000, set at the end of each day |
| Consistency | None | None | None |
| Time limit | None | None | None |
| Once funded | |||
| Daily loss | $4,000 | $2,500 | $2,000 pauses trading to the next day |
| Consistency | 40% | None | 35% |
| Profit split | 80%, or 90% or 100% at checkout | 80%, or 100% at checkout | 80% |
| First payout | 3 days at the earliest | No waiting period | 3 days at the earliest |
| Overnight and weekend holds | Allowed | Allowed | Closed at 23:00 server time |
| High-impact news | No trading 5 minutes either side | Allowed | Allowed |
E8 Pro also caps daily profit at $2,000 on this size: anything above it is removed at the daily rollover, in the challenge and once funded.
Same on all three: one challenge, no activation fee, every limit checked against your equity, and a 60-day limit between closed trades. Payout terms differ more than the challenge does and are set out under Getting paid below.
- Pick E8 One if you want a loss limit that rises with your closed profits and then locks at the starting balance, and payouts on request. You choose the drawdown and the split at checkout, so a $100,000 account runs from $398 to $1,090, as the next section shows.
- Pick E8 Pro if you want to request a payout every day and a loss limit that does not move until you are paid. In return, profit above $2,000 a day is removed at $100,000, and half of each payout request stays in the account.
- Pick E8 Signature if you want the cheapest $100,000 account, at $280, and can trade inside a $3,000 limit set at the end of each day. Every position is closed at 23:00 server time, and each payout is capped, starting at $2,250 on $100,000.
Our pick for most traders: E8 One. It costs the same as E8 Pro at $100,000 list price, lets you hold positions overnight, unlike E8 Signature, and once your closed balance is $6,000 up the loss limit stops at the starting balance for good.
How much does E8 Markets cost?
Every E8 fee is paid once, by card or crypto, with no subscription and no activation fee. These are list prices at each product’s default settings (E8 One at a 6% drawdown, E8 Pro at 8%, both with an 80% split), before any discount code. The Perpetual versions of E8 One and E8 Pro cost the same as the forex versions:
| Account size | E8 One | E8 Pro | E8 Signature |
|---|---|---|---|
| $5,000 | $48 | $32 | Not sold |
| $10,000 | $88 | $68 | Not sold |
| $25,000 | $188 | $148 | $120 |
| $50,000 | $288 | $228 | $160 |
| $100,000 | $488 | $488 | $280 |
| $150,000 | Not sold | Not sold | $450 |
| $200,000 | $798 | $998 | Not sold |
| $400,000 | $1,598 | $2,098 | Not sold |
| $500,000 | $1,998 | $2,598 | Not sold |
The fee is not refunded with your first payout.
How checkout choices change the price
On E8 One and E8 Pro, the drawdown and the split are bought, not fixed. This is what each choice costs on a $100,000 E8 One account, at list price. On E8 One the profit target is always 1.5 times the drawdown, so a wider drawdown also means a bigger target:
| E8 One, $100,000 | Maximum loss | Profit target | 80% split | 90% split | 100% split |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4% drawdown | $4,000 | $6,000 | $398 | $445 | $493 |
| 6% (default) | $6,000 | $9,000 | $488 | $547 | $606 |
| 8% drawdown | $8,000 | $12,000 | $586 | $656 | $727 |
| 10% drawdown | $10,000 | $15,000 | $684 | $766 | $848 |
| 14% drawdown | $14,000 | $21,000 | $879 | $984 | $1,090 |
E8 Pro sells a smaller grid than E8 One: three drawdowns and two splits. This is what each choice costs on a $100,000 E8 Pro account, at list price:
| E8 Pro, $100,000 | Maximum loss | 80% split | 100% split |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6% drawdown | $6,000 | $468 | $562 |
| 8% (default) | $8,000 | $488 | $586 |
| 10% drawdown | $10,000 | $539 | $646 |
At $50,000 the same choices run from $235 to $643 on E8 One and from $218 to $298 on E8 Pro. Other things that change the price or the rules:
- Swap-free adds 10% to the price, on E8 One and E8 Pro forex accounts only.
- cTrader costs $10 more on accounts priced under $100. No $50,000 or $100,000 account is priced that low.
- Forex or Perpetual does not change the price, the drawdown, the target, the split or the payout rules. What changes is how you trade, set out under what a Perpetual account is. E8 Signature has no priced options.
If a challenge fails:
- A failed challenge can be retried at 10% off, with the same settings, within 7 days.
E8’s discount page lists two current challenge codes on forex accounts, one at 10% off every purchase and one at 25% off a first purchase, and one on Perpetual accounts, at 50% off a first purchase and 30% off later ones.
Free trial
E8 also runs a free trial that needs no card, as E8’s free trial guide explains. It copies the rules of an E8 One account on Match-Trader, or of an E8 One Perpetual account on E8 Terminal, on real market data. It closes 30 days after you open it, you can open two every 28 days, and it is for practice only, with no payouts.
E8’s discount codes are for the paid challenges, and the trial plays no part in the grade.
Platforms and trading conditions
Which platforms you can pick depends on the product. E8 One forex accounts are offered on TradeLocker, Match-Trader, cTrader, MetaTrader 5 and E8’s own E8 Terminal. E8 Pro forex has the same list without Match-Trader, and E8 Signature runs on TradeLocker, cTrader and MetaTrader 5 only. US residents cannot use MetaTrader 5 or cTrader, which leaves a US trader on E8 Pro or E8 Signature with TradeLocker. Perpetual accounts trade on E8 Terminal only. E8’s help center describes E8 Terminal as a perpetuals platform while its product catalog also lists it for E8 One and E8 Pro forex accounts, so check the platform picker before you pay.
- Leverage on forex products is 1:30 on forex, 1:15 on indices, metals and energies, and 1:1 on crypto. Perpetual accounts give 1:15 on Bitcoin and Ethereum, 1:2 on other crypto, 1:5 on stocks, 1:15 on indices, metals and energies, and 1:25 on forex.
- Swap-free accounts are offered on E8 One and E8 Pro Forex only.
- News is unrestricted on E8 Pro and Signature. On a funded E8 One account you cannot trade 5 minutes either side of high-impact news.
- Signature closes every position at 23:00 server time, and trading resumes at 00:15. E8 One and E8 Pro allow overnight and weekend holds.
- Position size is capped on E8 One forex accounts at 50 lots per position on most symbols and 20 lots on gold, with at most 100 open positions and pending orders at once. E8 suggests splitting a larger trade across several positions.
- Changing platform on a forex account is possible once per paid order, by asking support, while the account is still in the challenge and before you have traded on it.
The rules that matter
The drawdown decides when an account fails, and the best-day rule decides when you can be paid, so both come first. E8 Pro’s daily profit cap and the rules that are easy to break without noticing follow.
How the drawdown works on a $100,000 E8 One account
At the default 6% setting the loss limit starts $6,000 below the starting balance. It rises only when you close a trade in profit, and it never moves back down:
| Step | Closed balance | Loss limit |
|---|---|---|
| Start | $100,000 | $94,000 |
| Close trades up $3,000 | $103,000 | $97,000 |
| Give back $2,000 | $101,000 | $97,000 |
| Closed balance reaches $106,000 | $106,000 | $100,000, locked for good |
Back near the start on the third line, the trader has $4,000 of room, not $6,000. The limit is checked against equity, so an open loss that reaches it fails the account even though only closed trades move it. Separately, you can lose up to $4,000 in a day, counted from your balance at the start of the day.
The other two products work differently at $100,000:
- E8 Pro has a fixed limit at $92,000 and a $2,500 daily loss limit. After your first payout the limit moves up to $100,000.
- E8 Signature allows a $3,000 loss, set at the end of each day. Once funded, losing $2,000 in a day pauses trading until 00:00 server time instead of failing the account.
The best-day rule
E8 One and E8 Signature have a consistency rule once funded, and no product has one in the challenge. On E8 One your best day can be no more than 40% of your profit when you ask for a payout, and on E8 Signature no more than 35%. With $5,000 of profit on E8 One, no single day can be more than $2,000. E8 Pro has no consistency rule.
What E8 Pro keeps on a $100,000 account
At the default 8% drawdown tier, profit above $2,000 in a day is removed at the daily rollover, while you can lose up to $2,500. When you ask for a payout, E8 pays out half of the profit you request and keeps the other half in the account as a buffer. Request $4,000 and $2,000 is paid out, with your split applied to that. After the first payout, your loss limit moves up to $100,000.
Rules that catch traders out
Four rules that apply on every product and are easy to break without noticing:
- Hold most trades for over a minute. If more than half of your trades last under a minute, it counts as a prohibited practice.
- Do not risk the whole daily loss limit on one trade. E8 treats an all-or-nothing trade as a prohibited practice. There is no fixed per-trade risk limit, but its risk team may contact traders it sees as aggressive.
- Run your own EA. An EA that other users also run can end the account. Copying trades between accounts that are all yours is allowed.
- Close a trade every 60 days. An account with no closed trade for 60 days is disabled. If you will be away, E8 asks you to email support first.
Getting paid: how does E8 Markets pay out?
E8 pays 80% of your profit by default, and on E8 One and E8 Pro you can buy up to 100% at checkout. The smallest payout is $100 of your share on every product, and on E8 One it must also be more than half the daily loss limit. The first request can come 3 days into the funded stage on E8 One and E8 Signature, and with no wait on E8 Pro. E8 Signature caps each payout, and E8 Pro has no cap. When and how much you can take, product by product:
| Product | Earliest first request | Later requests | Smallest payout | Cap per payout |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| E8 One | 3 days into the funded stage, at the earliest | On request, once your best day is no more than 40% of your profit | $100 of your share, and more than half the daily loss limit ($2,001 on a $100,000 account at the starting 6% setting, where the daily loss limit is $4,000) | None listed |
| E8 Pro | No waiting period | Every day, once you have made 1% of the starting balance since the last payout | $100 of your share | None |
| E8 Signature | 3 days into the funded stage, at the earliest | After 5 profitable days since your last request, each with closed profit of at least 0.3% of the account size, and a best day of no more than 35% of your profit | $100 of your share | $2,250 rising to $4,250 on $100,000 |
The detail for each product, and how the money reaches you:
- E8 One: request when your best day is no more than 40% of profit and your payout is more than half the daily loss limit. The drawdown does not reset after a payout, so leave a buffer.
- E8 Pro: a payout can be requested every day once you have made at least 1% of the starting balance since the last one, with no caps, no consistency rule and no minimum trading days. Half of each request is paid out, and the other half stays in the account as a buffer.
- E8 Signature: a buffer equal to your drawdown stays in the account, your best day must be no more than 35% of profit, and each payout is capped, from $2,250 to $4,250 on a $100,000 account. After the first payout you also need 5 profitable days before the next request, each with closed profit of at least 0.3% of the account size.
- The minimum payout is $100 of your share on every product, so at an 80% split you must request at least $125, on top of each product’s other payout conditions.
- Payouts go by WorkMarket or Rise, or Aeropay for US traders. If you cannot pass their identity checks, you cannot be paid. E8 charges no fee on a payout, though the payment provider may.
- E8 publishes median payout times for 1 January to 1 May 2026: 11 hours from request to approval, and 24 hours from request to the money arriving in your Rise or WorkMarket account. The whole process can take up to 5 business days, and nothing is processed on weekends.
What can end your account
These rules can end an E8 Markets account. Each comes from E8’s own help center and Terms:
- Touching the maximum loss limit, or the daily loss limit on E8 One or E8 Pro, open losses included. E8 Signature’s daily pause only stops trading until the next day.
- Risking your whole daily loss limit on one trade.
- Hedging across accounts, including your own, or running an EA that other users also run.
- Holding more than half your trades for under a minute.
- 60 days without a closed trade.
- Breaching the unpublished participant agreement, or attempting a chargeback.
Who can join
E8 restricts access by country, by product and by household:
- 35 countries and territories are barred from forex and perpetual accounts, including Russia, Ukraine, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates.
- E8 One is not sold in Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos and Taiwan, and its funded allocation is capped at $200,000 in India, Indonesia, Kenya and Vietnam.
- Your country is set by your ID document, not where you are.
- Funded accounts are capped per household: $500,000 on each of E8 One Forex, E8 One Perpetual, E8 Pro Forex and E8 Pro Perpetual, and 5 funded Signature accounts.
What E8’s Terms say
Everything above is the trading. E8’s Terms of Service, which you accept when you register, add a good deal to read before you buy: an agreement you are bound to but cannot see, E8’s discretion over your payouts and over its own rules, a refund clause that conflicts with the help center, limits on what you say about E8 and on disputing a charge, a license over your trading data, a help center that calls E8 regulated, a cap on what E8 owes you, and where a dispute is heard.
An agreement you cannot read
Clause 1.1 of the Terms binds you, from the moment you register, to an Educational Simulation Participant Agreement. Clause 4.2(c) makes a breach of it grounds for disqualification with no refund. The Terms name this agreement 12 times, and E8 does not publish it.
Clauses 1.1 and 4.2(c) together:
By accessing, registering, or using the E8 Platform, website, or any related services (collectively, the “Platform”), you agree to be bound by these Terms, as well as our Educational Simulation Participant Agreement (“ESPA”) and Privacy Policy. […] All fees paid to E8 are non-refundable under any circumstance, including but not limited to: […] (c) Disqualification for breach of the Terms or ESPA […]
You are bound to the ESPA at registration, you can be disqualified for breaching it, and the fee is gone when you are. The Terms that say so are public; the ESPA itself is not, so what it asks of you cannot be read before you pay.
Whether you are paid is E8’s call
Clause 5 sets out how payouts are made, and each of its three parts, 5.1 to 5.3, leaves the decision with E8. Clause 7.4 then ties eligibility for any reward to internal thresholds, as described in the ESPA, the agreement E8 does not publish.
Clauses 5.1 to 5.3:
Before receiving any payment from E8, E8 shall require that you provide documentation or proof of eligibility and compliance with an applicable E8 Trader agreement. If you, the E8 program participant, fail to provide requested documentation, or if E8 otherwise determines in its sole discretion that you do not meet the eligibility requirements or are not in compliance with the agreements, E8 reserves the right to terminate your account and withhold or revoke the awarding of any payout awards associated with such account. […] Failure to comply with this requirement may result in disqualification and forfeiture of any payout. Disqualification or forfeiture of any payout may also occur if it is determined that a participant did not comply with the agreements in any manner as determined by E8 in its sole discretion. […] In the event that the awarding of any payout is challenged by any legal authority, E8 reserves the right in its sole discretion to determine whether or not to distribute the payout.
Clause 7.4:
E8 reserves the right to assess the integrity, consistency, and originality of submitted performance data. Only data meeting E8’s internal quality, authenticity, and behavioral thresholds-as determined by E8’s Risk and Compliance Team-may be considered eligible for reward consideration as described in the ESPA. Data found to be generated through manipulation, automation, collusion, or gaming of Platform features will be invalidated and may result in account termination.
A payout you earned under the published rules can be withheld, revoked or forfeited on E8’s own finding that you did not comply, with no appeal set out, and whether your trading qualifies at all turns on thresholds you cannot read.
Rules and payouts can change after you buy
Clause 6.5 lets E8 change features retroactively, payout structure and pricing included, and 13.3 says such changes can be made without notice and can apply to traders who already hold an account:
You agree that access to any Platform feature is not permanent and may be removed or replaced at E8’s discretion. E8 may modify or eliminate features retroactively, and no user shall have a claim to prior functionality, pricing, payout structure, or simulation logic. […] E8 may modify, replace, discontinue, or add any feature, program structure, evaluation module, dashboard interface, reward policy, or data feed type, with or without prior notice. Changes may apply to existing users and are not limited to prospective participants.
The payout terms and price you bought are not fixed: E8 can change them later, and the change can reach an account you already hold.
Refunds: the help center and the Terms disagree
The help center says you can get your fee back within 30 days if you have not traded, except on crypto payments. Clause 4.2 of the Terms says fees are non-refundable “under any circumstance”, including when you fail identity checks or live somewhere E8 does not serve.
The clause lists what it covers, and the last two are the ones to read:
All fees paid to E8 are non-refundable under any circumstance, including but not limited to: (a) Failure to complete or pass an evaluation module; (b) Voluntary cancellation of your account; (c) Disqualification for breach of the Terms or ESPA; (d) Dissatisfaction with Platform tools, simulations, results, or updates; (e) Inability to access services due to failed KYC verification or geographic restriction. You acknowledge and agree that once your access to the Platform has been activated, the educational services are deemed fully delivered, and no refunds, chargebacks, or reversals shall be issued or honored.
A trader who fails identity checks, or who turns out to live somewhere E8 does not serve, has paid for something they cannot use and has no claim to the money. The clause also treats the service as fully delivered the moment access is switched on.
What you say about E8, and chargebacks
Clause 9.1(h), in the Terms’ list of prohibited activities, bars publishing “harmful” content about E8, and 9.2 lets E8 void your results and deny rewards for it. Clause 4.3(c) attaches termination and “legal enforcement” to an attempted chargeback, not only to one that succeeds.
Clause 9.1(h) sits in the list of prohibited activities, beside the trading offenses, and 9.2 sets out what follows:
(h) Posting, publishing, or sharing defamatory, misleading, or harmful content about E8, its personnel, users, partners, or technology […] E8 may, at its sole discretion: (a) Suspend or terminate your account; (b) Invalidate your performance data and deny any pending or future rewards; (c) Take legal action or refer the matter to regulatory or law enforcement agencies; (d) Seek damages, injunctive relief, or any other remedies permitted by law.
“Harmful” is not defined and sits alongside “defamatory”, so an accurate but unflattering account of a bad experience is caught on an ordinary reading. The consequence is not only losing the account: pending and future rewards can be voided.
A second clause reaches further. Clause 12.2(e) lets E8 suspend or close an account, with or without notice, for conduct it deems damaging to its operations, reputation or legal standing, and 12.3 says your progress may then be deleted:
E8 may suspend or terminate your access to the Platform, with or without notice, at its sole discretion, for any reason including but not limited to: (a) Violation of these Terms, the ESPA, or any applicable law; (b) Fraudulent, abusive, or manipulative behavior; (c) Non-cooperation with KYC/AML verification procedures; (d) Prolonged account inactivity; (e) Conduct deemed to damage E8’s operations, reputation, or legal standing. […] Upon termination, your access to the Platform will be revoked, and your simulation progress, account settings, and historical activity may be permanently deleted.
Unlike 9.1(h), this ground does not need you to have published anything, and E8 alone decides what counts as damaging.
Clause 4.3 does the same for a payment dispute:
(b) You will not initiate any chargeback or reversal unless unauthorized use has occurred; (c) You understand and agree that attempted reversals may result in permanent account termination, legal enforcement, and data invalidation.
The trigger is the attempt. A chargeback that fails is exposed to the same consequences as one that succeeds.
A license over your trading data
Clause 7.2 gives E8 a permanent license to use, commercialize and sublicense the data your trading generates, and 7.3 waives your claims over it:
Participant grants E8 an irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide, royalty- free, transferable, and sublicensable license to access, analyze, aggregate, derive, commercialize, and otherwise use any and all data generated through Participant’s use of the Platform, without further notice or consent. This includes use for: (a) Performance benchmarking; (b) Community analytics and trends; (c) Algorithmic testing and modeling; (d) Educational content development; (e) Licensing for internal or external applications. […] Participant waives any right to assert ownership, residuals, or unjust enrichment claims based on their data contributions.
Everything you do on the platform, including the record of how you trade, can be used and licensed on by E8 for good, without payment and without asking you again.
The help center says regulated, the Terms say not
E8’s help center article on identity checks opens: “As a regulated business, E8 Markets is required to comply with financial regulations, including laws designed to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.”
Clause 2.2(b) of the Terms, the document you accept, says the opposite: “E8 is not a broker-dealer, investment advisor, or regulated financial entity under any jurisdiction”.
Under the contract you sign, no regulator stands behind your fees or your payouts.
What E8 owes you is capped
Clause 10.5 caps E8’s liability at what you paid it in the six months before a claim:
E8’S TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM UNDER THESE TERMS OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE PLATFORM SHALL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT PAID BY YOU TO E8 IN THE SIX (6) MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM.
Clause 10.1 then makes you cover E8’s costs from any claim tied to your breach of the Terms or your use of the platform, with no cap on that side:
You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless E8, its affiliates, licensors and service providers, and its and their respective officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, licensors, suppliers, successors and assigns from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, judgments, awards, losses, costs, expenses or fees (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or relating to your violation of these Terms or your use of the Platform.
The sums a trader is likely to dispute with E8 are payouts, not fees. A $100,000 E8 Signature forex account costs $280 at list price, and its payout cap rises to $4,250, so a claim over one withheld payout can be worth far more than E8 can owe.
Disputes go to arbitration in Dallas
Clause 15 sends disputes to AAA arbitration in Dallas County under Texas law. You can opt out of arbitration by writing to E8 within 30 days; otherwise the jury and class action rights go.
The waiver at clause 15.5 is set out in capitals, and clause 15.7 adds a right to delay:
YOU IRREVOCABLY WAIVE: (A) ANY RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY; (B) ANY RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION, CLASS ARBITRATION, OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING AGAINST E8 OR ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, OR AGENTS. […] E8 reserves the right to delay or defer arbitration or litigation proceedings at its discretion during internal investigations, compliance reviews, or pending related actions.
The opt-out window is 30 days in writing. Miss it and claims are individual and arbitrated in Dallas, and the last sentence lets E8 defer the proceeding while it investigates.
What E8 Markets says
Right of reply: not yet answered. This review reports three critical findings drawn from E8’s own Terms. We sent the first, on the agreement E8 does not publish, to E8 Markets on 5 September 2026, and the other two, on payout withholding and reward eligibility, with seven further findings on 25 September 2026. E8 Markets has not replied to either letter. Any reply it sends will be added here word for word.
Who you are dealing with
E8’s Terms name one contracting company, and its site footer names two more. The table shows what its documents state.
| Detail | What E8’s documents state |
|---|---|
| Contracting company | E8 Funding LLC, Dallas, Texas (Terms 1.1) |
| MetaTrader 5 operator | E8 Markets Ltd, Saint Lucia, registration 2025-00347 |
| Website owner | Digital Renaissance LLC, Puerto Rico |
| Chief executive | Dylan Elchami, founder |
| Operating since | 2021 |
The footer disclosure is where the split is set out, and it allocates the platforms it names between the companies:
This website is subject to the internal rules and policies of Digital Renaissance LLC, a company incorporated under the laws of Puerto Rico. All content, products, and services offered through this site are provided under the management and supervision of Digital Renaissance LLC. […] E8 Funding LLC is a technology and education company incorporated under the laws of the United States, located at 4101 McEwen Rd #205, Dallas, TX 75244. […] E8 Funding solely operates the following trading platforms: Tradelocker, cTrader, and Match Trade. E8 Markets Ltd is a legal entity incorporated under the laws of Saint Lucia, with registration number 2025-00347, located at Ground Floor, The Sotheby Building, Rodney Village, Rodney Bay, Gros-Islet, Saint Lucia, LC06 201. E8 Markets Ltd operates the MetaTrader “MT5” platform.
The footer allocates the platforms, and the Terms name the counterparty. What the footer divides up is which company operates which platform: E8 Funding runs TradeLocker, cTrader and Match Trade, and E8 Markets Ltd of Saint Lucia runs MetaTrader 5. E8 Terminal, the only platform for perpetual accounts, is not in the split. Who you contract with does not move with that choice. Clause 1.1 makes the agreement one “between you […] and E8 Funding LLC”, with no platform qualification anywhere, and the words E8 Markets Ltd, Saint Lucia and MT5 do not appear in the Terms at all. So a trader on MetaTrader 5 contracts with the Texas company while trading on a platform the Saint Lucia company runs.
The same homepage calls E8 “US-Based” in its page title. The company you sign with is in Texas, but the one that runs MetaTrader 5 is in Saint Lucia, and the one that supervises the site is in Puerto Rico, a US territory.
- E8 says it is not a broker and does not take deposits or manage money.
On 27 August 2026, Trustpilot was not publishing a rating for this firm. On 1 September 2026 its profile carried a warning reading “This company’s rating is unavailable due to a breach of our guidelines”, alongside a separate panel reading “We’ve removed a number of fake reviews for this company”. No aggregate rating is published.
The profile still shows a star distribution, 84% at five and 9% at one, and it is marked as inviting reviews. That is not a score. It is the arithmetic of a profile whose own platform has withheld the rating and says it removed fake reviews from it, so the two cannot be quoted apart.
A withheld rating is not evidence that a firm fails to pay.
Why this grade
What costs E8 Markets most is in its Terms: earned payouts can be withheld at its discretion, and you are bound by an agreement it does not publish. A clause that voids rewards over criticism caps the letter, and payouts and support are unscored.
| Part and score | The reason |
|---|---|
| Rule fairness (20% of the grade) 56/100 · Fair | E8 can withhold or revoke an earned payout at its sole discretion or on internal behavior thresholds it does not publish, and can change payout terms and prices retroactively, existing accounts included. |
| Trading conditions (20% of the grade) 69/100 · Fair | Loss limits are fixed, end-of-day or capped at the starting balance, but the typical futures plan needs a target about twice its 3% loss limit and closes positions daily. |
| Company trust (15% of the grade) 65/100 · Fair | Registering binds you to a participant agreement E8 does not publish, and posting harmful content about E8 can void your pending and future rewards, the clause that caps the grade. |
| Challenge value (15% of the grade) 90/100 · Strong | With first-order codes, a $200,000 E8 One Perpetual costs $399 and a $100,000 Signature forex account $210, $2.00 and $2.10 per $1,000; in futures, a $100,000 E8 Zero Starter at $278 costs least per $1,000, $2.78. |
| Payout reliability (25% of the grade) Not scored | E8 publishes its own median payout times, but we have not yet followed an E8 payout from purchase to bank or checked one against an independent record. |
| Support (5% of the grade) Not scored | We have not tested how fast or how well E8's support answers, and we have not yet run a support test on any firm. |
E8 Markets · what the record shows before you start
From the facts we hold for E8 Markets: profit split 80%; payouts on demand on E8 One (Forex), E8 One (Perpetual), E8 Signature (Futures) and E8 Signature (Forex), every day on E8 Pro (Forex), E8 Pro (Perpetual), E8 Zero Max (Futures) and E8 Zero Starter (Futures); entry from $32 (E8 Pro (Forex), $5K account); we hold 63 rules on record for this firm. This summary is assembled from the canonical record, not from the firm's marketing.
Read the full summary
The current grade is C (preliminary) under methodology firm-grade-v1.2.0. Preliminary means the letter rests on what we have read so far and no payout has been tested yet, so it can move as verification completes.
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Our verdict
E8 Markets is a one-step challenge firm for forex and perpetual futures traders who want to set their own drawdown and split, at prices that are low for the capital. It fits badly if you want every document you are bound by in front of you before you pay.
Best for
- Traders who want to choose their drawdown model and will check every setting at checkout.
- News traders on E8 Pro or Signature.
- Traders who want frequent small payouts and accept E8 Pro’s 50% buffer.
- Traders who want crypto, stock and index perpetuals under the same rules and prices as the forex version.
Avoid if
- You want to read every agreement before you pay.
- Your results come from a few large days, on E8 Pro.
- You hold positions overnight, on Signature.
- You want to hold futures positions overnight. Every E8 futures plan closes open positions each day.
Questions traders ask
Which company am I contracting with?
Is this real trading?
Is crypto more expensive than forex here?
What is the daily profit cap?
Why is there no review-site score on this page?
Is this review current?
Facts checked: 15 to 29 September 2026, against E8’s Terms, site footer, help centers, product catalog and discount page.