₦airaland Forum

Donsheddy:
Esteemed Members,

After thoughtful discussion, we've decided to create a special space in FTA Nairaland Thread for all of us to reflect on our trading journey in 2025 and look ahead to 2026. To make this happen, we'll be locking the Telegram group from December 27, 2025, Saturday at 12:00 AM to January 3, 2026, Saturday at 12:00 AM.

During this time, we'd love for everyone to share their trading experiences on the thread. Please include:

1. What you learned during the course of the year.
2. Areas you discovered that still need improvement.
3. Areas you improved on within the year and how it shaped your trading journey.
4. Mistakes you made that other newbies should avoid.

Also, when our host ALEXA58 opens the 2026 thread on January 1, 2026, we encourage everyone to drop their plans for the new year:

1. How you intend to trade in 2026.
2. Things you want to test or try out in 2026 to improve your trading journey, and how you plan to go about it.

We believe that self-realization, journaling, and holding each other accountable are key ways we can grow together as traders.

Some of our community members have already started reflecting on their 2025 journey, sharing lessons learned and setting goals for 2026. This kind of sharing can be really inspiring and helpful for everyone.

Thank you for being part of this community, and let's make this a productive and supportive space for all of us.

God bless you all,

FTA Admins

Eaglepixel:
I didn’t open any account after the last one i uploaded. Reason was due to holiday market conditions I prefer to seat on my hands.
Please can it be cash transfer please sir. I don’t want account now.

Alexas58:
Accounts are to be given to
1. Eagle pixel
2. Kelly Bentley

Accounts won.
Nairatrader 200k account

They've been paying so far
Well give them a try.
And we hope our winners can get funded, they've shown excellent trading skills in the online competition


Thanks for playing

Alexas58:
Accounts are to be given to
1. Eagle pixel
2. Kelly Bentley

Accounts won.
Nairatrader 200k account

They've been paying so far
Well give them a try.
And we hope our winners can get funded, they've shown excellent trading skills in the online competition


Thanks for playing

BTCproMax:
Weldon bossmi...
Looking forward to your next competition.

Please let me quickly shift this in...incase of any other competition that will be organize by our president or any other boss here, please do us a favor of using another broker and not funded next...

I'm currently having IP issue with fundednext... Can't log in to my account... That was why I couldn't partake on this previous competition organized by 001.
There may be many others (like me) having this same issue.
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

Alexas58:
Accounts are to be given to
1. Eagle pixel
2. Kelly Bentley

Accounts won.
Nairatrader 200k account

They've been paying so far
Well give them a try.
And we hope our winners can get funded, they've shown excellent trading skills in the online competition


Thanks for playing

Davigle:
My Trading Journey in 2025

I started the year with a prop firm capital $5k Phase 2 challenge. For the first time in a long while, I finally made it to Phase 2 in December 2024, after so many failures. I was exhilarated and so optimistic about passing the challenge. Unfortunately for me, I ended up blowing the Phase 2 challenge because I was trading aggressively; I wanted to pass the challenge fast so that I could make money and take care of my needs. Also, I had joined the Alexas58 competition, and on the first day of the competition, I crashed out of it.

I was so devastated, and I finally made a choice to cut down on my risk. At that time, boss Mr. D FTA (aka market2profit) shared a post about a guy who took more than one whole year to pass a $10k challenge and has gone on to withdraw many times from the account, stacking multiple accounts ending in a million-dollar funding. I was moved and motivated to go "Team InfoFirst" fully by taking it slow and steady. And so, I began a bi-weekly challenge of hitting 5% on an FTMO $10k trial account. Also, at the start of February, I won a Quantekel Power $5k 2-step challenge with a 35% consistency score and a 6% profit target for both Phase 1 and 2, with a 3% daily drawdown and 6% maximum drawdown.

At the time, a lot of bosses here discussed the issues with consistency scores at length and how to go about it. I remember vividly boss Fmaster Donsheddy and many others were strategizing on how one can meet up to the consistency score rules, but I didn't pay attention to all that they were discussing. I was so focused on hitting my targets without breaching the daily drawdown. I began trading it slowly, and by mid-March, I had met the profit target for Phase 1. I was so happy and rushed down to share the good news with the FTA family. Due to my excitement, I did not pay attention to my consistency score, which was over 100%—yeah, it was that bad. Boss Fmaster was the one who called my attention to it because I was waiting for a congratulatory mail and login details for Phase 2, but I got none. That was when it hit me how serious the issue of the consistency score was. Then began my struggles, and I battled bitterly with it.

Also in March, I won a Liquid Market $10k 3-step challenge with no consistency score, a 7% profit target for Phases 1, 2, and 3, a 5% daily drawdown, 7% maximum drawdown, and 35 maximum trading days. By April, I passed my Liquid Market $10k Phase 1 challenge. At that time, I was going through very serious financial stress; I was completely broke and didn't even have data to trade. I had always used Stark VPN as a backup whenever I ran out of data because they gift free 50MB of data daily on MTN. I activated it and then logged in to my MT5 and traded my Quantekel $5k challenge. This ended up breaching my account as I got a mail for a violation of IP address by using a VPN; hence, my account was hard breached.

Realizing what had occurred, I was completely miserable and shattered. I remembered sharing the news with the FTA family, and Mr. D FTA (aka market2profit) called me out and rebuked me with strong words. I honestly won't lie, I was deeply hurt. In my grief, I vowed to avoid all prop firms that have consistency scores; I developed a strong dislike for anything related to consistency scores. I'm also glad to say that I took the scolding without any grudges but with humility and remorse. Then there were bad reviews and bad Trustpilot ratings on Liquid Market. Also, at the time, I remembered either Zimuzor or Bee passing the Liquid Market $10k Phase 1 challenge but being refused Phase 2. Due to that, I abandoned my $10k challenge with them and went back to trading the FTMO $10k trial account, aiming for 5% bi-weekly.

For the remaining months of April, May, June, and July, I was trading my cent account and FTMO $10k trial account. During that period, I was hitting my target of 5% every two weeks back-to-back. Also in that period, I had won a CrystalBallMarket and a SwayFunded $1k 2-step challenge, and I blew both of them up. I then traded a lot of accounts with Vebson prop firm, where I failed some and passed some. For the ones I passed, I needed to pay for the account in order for me to proceed to Phase 2, so I abandoned them. It was a really challenging period for me because I was working on reducing the number of trades I take. I remembered earlier on, within Feb or March, Alexas58 challenged me to stick to trading only one timeframe because I was trading the 15-minute chart but through multiple timeframe analysis. So, I made a transition to the 4-hour chart because I realized that I didn't have the luxury of time to be day trading, and it was at that moment I decided to go into swing trading fully.

By July ending, I won an Instant Funding $5k 1-step challenge. "I’m so fuckin back"—that was how I felt winning the account. I reflected on all my previous failures and challenges, and then I went on trading the account more cautiously than I had done before. I traded the account from August till September, and by mid-September, I got my first breakthrough in 2025. I passed my Instant Funding $5k 1-step challenge and got to the funded stage. However, I was hit with another setback; after receiving my congratulatory mail and my funded certificate, I was asked to pay $55 to gain full access to my funded account.

Boy, I was broken again because $55 was approximately 88k Naira as of then. I had just recently got a job, and my salary is just 70k, of which 30k goes for my monthly transportation to work. I definitely could not raise the money. I began to feel desperate and was contemplating borrowing money to pay for the account, but I've always maintained a strict principle to avoid being in debt by all means, so borrowing money is a big "no" for me. I went on Trustpilot to see the reviews on Instant Funding, and it was very bad, with many reports of Instant Funding scamming their customers by not giving them access to the funded account even after paying the $55 fee. When I checked the official price of the Instant Funding $5k 1-step challenge on their website, it went for $49, so it looked fishy. I tabled it to the FTA house, which encouraged me to abandon the account, and so I did.

Also in September, I had joined the FundedNext monthly competition while participating in the Alexas58 competition as well. I hit 70% within the first two weeks of the month and decided not to trade the account until the end of the FundedNext monthly competition, hoping that I would definitely be among the top 100. But I was not. In my grief, I shared my ordeal with the FTA family, and Mummy Cindy took pity on me and bought a Nostro $5k 2-step challenge on October 1st. I was also among the winners of the Alexas58 competition, where he got me a NairaTrader $200k 2-step challenge, but I blew the account in the first week of the month.

By October 14th, I passed my Phase 1 challenge and moved on to Phase 2. Then, a calamity struck me. I missed two solid trades in the 3rd week of October, either of which would have passed my Phase 2 challenge. Then, in the last week of October, at the start of the week, I missed another successful trade that definitely would have passed my Phase 2, all playing out according to my analysis. I was devastated and couldn't keep my cool; this made me both over-trade and revenge-trade, leading my account to a soft breach for violation of the 2% risk rule on Nostro. Fear struck my heart, and I got back to my senses. I then contacted Nostro support, and my account was unfrozen. I thought about the shame and disgrace I would feel on FTA if I blew the account and how I was going to face Mummy Cindy, so I vowed never to allow such a thing to happen again. I then did a lot of intensive mind reprogramming on myself; I motivated the shit out of myself.

Also at the time, someone from the FTA family who wishes to remain anonymous (of which I'm very obliged to do so) bought me a Maven $5k 2-step challenge on November 1st. Within the first week of November, I made my second breakthrough in 2025 by passing my Nostro Phase 2 challenge and getting to funding. I was so happy that at last, I finally made it to the Promised Land. But I didn't know my joy was going to be cut short abruptly. After passing my KYC, Nostro refused to give me access to my funded account, using the soft breach issue as an excuse. I was deeply hurt, but I didn't waste time grieving my loss. I focused on passing my Maven, and by November 14th, I passed the Maven Phase 1 challenge. In the 3rd week of November, I passed my Phase 2 challenge, getting to the Promised Land once more.

I passed my KYC with Maven and was granted access to my funded account. I was so happy that I finally made it, and I wanted to follow Donsheddy's footsteps in steady withdrawals by aiming for low-hanging fruits. Within the last week of November, I had made 1% (which is $50) on the account, but I could not withdraw it. Maven had scheduled my withdrawal window to be opened on December 9th, meaning I had to wait till December 9th before I could make a withdrawal request. And then, my greed struck me.

I had been battling with my phone for a very long time; I use a Tecno Pop 2 Power 1GB RAM phone which I have been using since December 2022. I've used the life out of the phone and have longed to change it. Also, Christmas is around the corner, and I have been planning a "Detty December" for my family. I wanted to celebrate Christmas in a big way with my family with my first withdrawal. I began to dream and fantasize about the good feelings. I began to reason that waiting two weeks to withdraw $50 was too small and paltry; I could make more in that period, like $200 or $300. Even after the profit split, I'd still be well off. I will use $100 to get a brand-new phone while I use the rest to celebrate Christmas with my family and get everyone a gift, including my dad and mom. That felt like a worthy deed, but alas, I didn't realize that my greed had taken over and was already doing the thinking for me.

As you may be guessing by now, disaster struck again, but in a subtle way. When the first week of December came, I was already in a drawdown of 1%, but I wasn't bothered; rather, I was overconfident. I said to myself that I've seen and been through worse than that and got out. I was in a deep drawdown of 6% on my Nostro Phase 2 challenge and got out and hit my target all in a space of 2 weeks without gambling or taking crazy risks. I still did the same again on my Maven Phase 1 challenge; I was in a 5% drawdown and came out and hit the 8% profit target within 2 weeks as well. "I've seen worse and I got out, there's no need for me to be afraid or panic"—that was how I felt. To be candid, I was cautiously trading the account, but December turned out to be a bad month for me as I was in a losing streak. Before I knew it, 1% drawdown became 3% on the 2nd of December.

Now, all this while, I had completely forgotten that Maven had a trailing daily drawdown based on either balance or equity, and it is very sensitive to floating PnL. I thought it was fixed and that I never lose more than 2% of my account in a day, which is $100. So I was down to $4,840, which was a 3% drawdown, and then I had another 2% loss on the 3rd of December. I got a mail that I breached my account due to daily drawdown.

You can imagine the pain I went through seeing the mail. Of course, I am deeply ashamed to say this; after inspiring so many folks here, I still end up as a failure. I couldn't come out to say the truth, but I also know that I can't hide the truth forever because sooner or later it's definitely going to get suspicious. My biggest pain is that I am back to square one after all my efforts and endeavors. My goal was to end the year with at least a funded account, and I got there three times without being able to hold onto any.

Bcpump:
Very interesting read.

All I have to say is 2026 will be better by God's grace.

Let's take our slow and steady learnings into the new year.

Davigle:
My Trading Journey in 2025

I started the year with a prop firm capital $5k Phase 2 challenge. For the first time in a long while, I finally made it to Phase 2 in December 2024, after so many failures. I was exhilarated and so optimistic about passing the challenge. Unfortunately for me, I ended up blowing the Phase 2 challenge because I was trading aggressively; I wanted to pass the challenge fast so that I could make money and take care of my needs. Also, I had joined the Alexas58 competition, and on the first day of the competition, I crashed out of it.

I was so devastated, and I finally made a choice to cut down on my risk. At that time, boss Mr. D FTA (aka market2profit) shared a post about a guy who took more than one whole year to pass a $10k challenge and has gone on to withdraw many times from the account, stacking multiple accounts ending in a million-dollar funding. I was moved and motivated to go "Team InfoFirst" fully by taking it slow and steady. And so, I began a bi-weekly challenge of hitting 5% on an FTMO $10k trial account. Also, at the start of February, I won a Quantekel Power $5k 2-step challenge with a 35% consistency score and a 6% profit target for both Phase 1 and 2, with a 3% daily drawdown and 6% maximum drawdown.

At the time, a lot of bosses here discussed the issues with consistency scores at length and how to go about it. I remember vividly boss Fmaster Donsheddy and many others were strategizing on how one can meet up to the consistency score rules, but I didn't pay attention to all that they were discussing. I was so focused on hitting my targets without breaching the daily drawdown. I began trading it slowly, and by mid-March, I had met the profit target for Phase 1. I was so happy and rushed down to share the good news with the FTA family. Due to my excitement, I did not pay attention to my consistency score, which was over 100%—yeah, it was that bad. Boss Fmaster was the one who called my attention to it because I was waiting for a congratulatory mail and login details for Phase 2, but I got none. That was when it hit me how serious the issue of the consistency score was. Then began my struggles, and I battled bitterly with it.

Also in March, I won a Liquid Market $10k 3-step challenge with no consistency score, a 7% profit target for Phases 1, 2, and 3, a 5% daily drawdown, 7% maximum drawdown, and 35 maximum trading days. By April, I passed my Liquid Market $10k Phase 1 challenge. At that time, I was going through very serious financial stress; I was completely broke and didn't even have data to trade. I had always used Stark VPN as a backup whenever I ran out of data because they gift free 50MB of data daily on MTN. I activated it and then logged in to my MT5 and traded my Quantekel $5k challenge. This ended up breaching my account as I got a mail for a violation of IP address by using a VPN; hence, my account was hard breached.

Realizing what had occurred, I was completely miserable and shattered. I remembered sharing the news with the FTA family, and Mr. D FTA (aka market2profit) called me out and rebuked me with strong words. I honestly won't lie, I was deeply hurt. In my grief, I vowed to avoid all prop firms that have consistency scores; I developed a strong dislike for anything related to consistency scores. I'm also glad to say that I took the scolding without any grudges but with humility and remorse. Then there were bad reviews and bad Trustpilot ratings on Liquid Market. Also, at the time, I remembered either Zimuzor or Bee passing the Liquid Market $10k Phase 1 challenge but being refused Phase 2. Due to that, I abandoned my $10k challenge with them and went back to trading the FTMO $10k trial account, aiming for 5% bi-weekly.

For the remaining months of April, May, June, and July, I was trading my cent account and FTMO $10k trial account. During that period, I was hitting my target of 5% every two weeks back-to-back. Also in that period, I had won a CrystalBallMarket and a SwayFunded $1k 2-step challenge, and I blew both of them up. I then traded a lot of accounts with Vebson prop firm, where I failed some and passed some. For the ones I passed, I needed to pay for the account in order for me to proceed to Phase 2, so I abandoned them. It was a really challenging period for me because I was working on reducing the number of trades I take. I remembered earlier on, within Feb or March, Alexas58 challenged me to stick to trading only one timeframe because I was trading the 15-minute chart but through multiple timeframe analysis. So, I made a transition to the 4-hour chart because I realized that I didn't have the luxury of time to be day trading, and it was at that moment I decided to go into swing trading fully.

By July ending, I won an Instant Funding $5k 1-step challenge. "I’m so fuckin back"—that was how I felt winning the account. I reflected on all my previous failures and challenges, and then I went on trading the account more cautiously than I had done before. I traded the account from August till September, and by mid-September, I got my first breakthrough in 2025. I passed my Instant Funding $5k 1-step challenge and got to the funded stage. However, I was hit with another setback; after receiving my congratulatory mail and my funded certificate, I was asked to pay $55 to gain full access to my funded account.

Boy, I was broken again because $55 was approximately 88k Naira as of then. I had just recently got a job, and my salary is just 70k, of which 30k goes for my monthly transportation to work. I definitely could not raise the money. I began to feel desperate and was contemplating borrowing money to pay for the account, but I've always maintained a strict principle to avoid being in debt by all means, so borrowing money is a big "no" for me. I went on Trustpilot to see the reviews on Instant Funding, and it was very bad, with many reports of Instant Funding scamming their customers by not giving them access to the funded account even after paying the $55 fee. When I checked the official price of the Instant Funding $5k 1-step challenge on their website, it went for $49, so it looked fishy. I tabled it to the FTA house, which encouraged me to abandon the account, and so I did.

Also in September, I had joined the FundedNext monthly competition while participating in the Alexas58 competition as well. I hit 70% within the first two weeks of the month and decided not to trade the account until the end of the FundedNext monthly competition, hoping that I would definitely be among the top 100. But I was not. In my grief, I shared my ordeal with the FTA family, and Mummy Cindy took pity on me and bought a Nostro $5k 2-step challenge on October 1st. I was also among the winners of the Alexas58 competition, where he got me a NairaTrader $200k 2-step challenge, but I blew the account in the first week of the month.

By October 14th, I passed my Phase 1 challenge and moved on to Phase 2. Then, a calamity struck me. I missed two solid trades in the 3rd week of October, either of which would have passed my Phase 2 challenge. Then, in the last week of October, at the start of the week, I missed another successful trade that definitely would have passed my Phase 2, all playing out according to my analysis. I was devastated and couldn't keep my cool; this made me both over-trade and revenge-trade, leading my account to a soft breach for violation of the 2% risk rule on Nostro. Fear struck my heart, and I got back to my senses. I then contacted Nostro support, and my account was unfrozen. I thought about the shame and disgrace I would feel on FTA if I blew the account and how I was going to face Mummy Cindy, so I vowed never to allow such a thing to happen again. I then did a lot of intensive mind reprogramming on myself; I motivated the shit out of myself.

Also at the time, someone from the FTA family who wishes to remain anonymous (of which I'm very obliged to do so) bought me a Maven $5k 2-step challenge on November 1st. Within the first week of November, I made my second breakthrough in 2025 by passing my Nostro Phase 2 challenge and getting to funding. I was so happy that at last, I finally made it to the Promised Land. But I didn't know my joy was going to be cut short abruptly. After passing my KYC, Nostro refused to give me access to my funded account, using the soft breach issue as an excuse. I was deeply hurt, but I didn't waste time grieving my loss. I focused on passing my Maven, and by November 14th, I passed the Maven Phase 1 challenge. In the 3rd week of November, I passed my Phase 2 challenge, getting to the Promised Land once more.

I passed my KYC with Maven and was granted access to my funded account. I was so happy that I finally made it, and I wanted to follow Donsheddy's footsteps in steady withdrawals by aiming for low-hanging fruits. Within the last week of November, I had made 1% (which is $50) on the account, but I could not withdraw it. Maven had scheduled my withdrawal window to be opened on December 9th, meaning I had to wait till December 9th before I could make a withdrawal request. And then, my greed struck me.

I had been battling with my phone for a very long time; I use a Tecno Pop 2 Power 1GB RAM phone which I have been using since December 2022. I've used the life out of the phone and have longed to change it. Also, Christmas is around the corner, and I have been planning a "Detty December" for my family. I wanted to celebrate Christmas in a big way with my family with my first withdrawal. I began to dream and fantasize about the good feelings. I began to reason that waiting two weeks to withdraw $50 was too small and paltry; I could make more in that period, like $200 or $300. Even after the profit split, I'd still be well off. I will use $100 to get a brand-new phone while I use the rest to celebrate Christmas with my family and get everyone a gift, including my dad and mom. That felt like a worthy deed, but alas, I didn't realize that my greed had taken over and was already doing the thinking for me.

As you may be guessing by now, disaster struck again, but in a subtle way. When the first week of December came, I was already in a drawdown of 1%, but I wasn't bothered; rather, I was overconfident. I said to myself that I've seen and been through worse than that and got out. I was in a deep drawdown of 6% on my Nostro Phase 2 challenge and got out and hit my target all in a space of 2 weeks without gambling or taking crazy risks. I still did the same again on my Maven Phase 1 challenge; I was in a 5% drawdown and came out and hit the 8% profit target within 2 weeks as well. "I've seen worse and I got out, there's no need for me to be afraid or panic"—that was how I felt. To be candid, I was cautiously trading the account, but December turned out to be a bad month for me as I was in a losing streak. Before I knew it, 1% drawdown became 3% on the 2nd of December.

Now, all this while, I had completely forgotten that Maven had a trailing daily drawdown based on either balance or equity, and it is very sensitive to floating PnL. I thought it was fixed and that I never lose more than 2% of my account in a day, which is $100. So I was down to $4,840, which was a 3% drawdown, and then I had another 2% loss on the 3rd of December. I got a mail that I breached my account due to daily drawdown.

You can imagine the pain I went through seeing the mail. Of course, I am deeply ashamed to say this; after inspiring so many folks here, I still end up as a failure. I couldn't come out to say the truth, but I also know that I can't hide the truth forever because sooner or later it's definitely going to get suspicious. My biggest pain is that I am back to square one after all my efforts and endeavors. My goal was to end the year with at least a funded account, and I got there three times without being able to hold onto any.

Davigle:
### 1. Biggest Lessons Learned in 2025

**Believing in Myself:** I learned to believe in myself and my capabilities. I have suffered from self-doubt because it took me so long to reach my current level. For a long time, my subconscious was plagued by the fear of whether I would ever achieve success in this business. Having spent four straight years blowing demo accounts and losing one live account, I felt bedeviled by failure. However, when I began passing Phase 1 challenges last year, my perspective shifted. I now have a very strong belief that I can definitely make it in trading.

**Less is More:** I learned that "less is more" in trading. The fewer assets you watch and trade, the more your performance improves. I have found this to be true, as most of my biggest wins come from one or two solid trades rather than a high volume of activity.

**The Virtue of Patience:** I learned the importance of patience—the patience to remain in alignment with the market, the patience to wait for a high-quality setup, and the patience required to manage drawdowns effectively.

**Risk and Psychology:** I learned how to cut my risk and improve my psychology by remaining calm through self-motivation and affirmations. In my experience, surviving a drawdown is more about psychological fortitude and aggressively reducing risk than anything else.

**Technical Simplicity:** I have learned never to trade against the Higher Timeframes (HTF). I now keep my strategy simple, focusing on the basics of price movement: market structure (expansions, retracements, and consolidations) and support and resistance.

---

### 2. Areas That Need Improvement

* **Discipline:** I need to stick strictly to my plans and stay away from the market during low-liquidity sessions.
* **FOMO and Overtrading:** I must continue working to avoid the urge to jump into trades out of a fear of missing out.
* **Timeframe Integrity:** I need to stick strictly to the 4H chart. I sometimes find myself dropping down to the 1H or 30M charts, which invariably leads to overtrading.
* **Emotional Stability:** Remaining calm after a missed trade is vital, as frustration over a missed move is my biggest trigger for FOMO.

---

### 3. Areas I Have Improved In

* **Managing Drawdowns:** I have learned how to play the "long game." By cutting risk aggressively and remaining selective with my trades, I can stay focused and navigate out of difficult periods.
* **HTF Analysis and Bias:** I have improved at aligning my analysis with the higher timeframes and fundamentals. When these elements align, it consistently leads to my most significant wins.

---

### 4. Mistakes Newbies Should Avoid

**Avoid VPNs at All Costs:** Never use a VPN, even if you are offered free data to browse the internet. If you want to make a career out of prop firm trading, avoid VPNs in any form, as they will lead to a hard breach of your account.

**Prioritize Daily Drawdown:** Pay closer attention to your daily drawdown than your maximum drawdown. This is especially critical for firms with a trailing daily drawdown. Daily limits are often the "silent killers" of funded accounts.

**Monitor Floating PnL:** Do not ignore your floating PnL (Profit and Loss). This is how I lost my NairaTrader $200k account—even though I eventually hit my profit target, my floating PnL breached the daily limit before I closed the trade. I suffered the same issue with Maven. If your floating loss hits the daily limit, your account is gone, regardless of whether the trade eventually turns profitable.

**The 1% Rule for Floating Risk:** If possible, never allow your floating PnL to exceed 1% risk. I experienced a soft breach on my Nostro challenge because my floating loss hit 2%, which eventually led to being denied a funded account. Many firms claim to be "balance-based," but floating risk can still breach your account. Don't be fooled; protect your equity.

**Practice Absolute Patience:** Impatience leads to poor decisions and painful regrets. Take it from someone currently dealing with those regrets: patience is the only true antidote to FOMO and overtrading.

**Maintain Accountability:** Find someone to be accountable to, whether it is a mentor or a community like the FTA family. Being transparent about my wins and losses has been essential to my growth. There is great wisdom in receiving a rebuke; never take it for granted.

BTCproMax:
Well said...

Let us all agree that by this time next year, we all will be sharing testimony and not failed account.

2026 WILL PAY THE BILLS by God's willing 🙏🙏

Davigle:
My Trading Journey in 2025

I started the year with a prop firm capital $5k Phase 2 challenge. For the first time in a long while, I finally made it to Phase 2 in December 2024, after so many failures. I was exhilarated and so optimistic about passing the challenge. Unfortunately for me, I ended up blowing the Phase 2 challenge because I was trading aggressively; I wanted to pass the challenge fast so that I could make money and take care of my needs. Also, I had joined the Alexas58 competition, and on the first day of the competition, I crashed out of it.

I was so devastated, and I finally made a choice to cut down on my risk. At that time, boss Mr. D FTA (aka market2profit) shared a post about a guy who took more than one whole year to pass a $10k challenge and has gone on to withdraw many times from the account, stacking multiple accounts ending in a million-dollar funding. I was moved and motivated to go "Team InfoFirst" fully by taking it slow and steady. And so, I began a bi-weekly challenge of hitting 5% on an FTMO $10k trial account. Also, at the start of February, I won a Quantekel Power $5k 2-step challenge with a 35% consistency score and a 6% profit target for both Phase 1 and 2, with a 3% daily drawdown and 6% maximum drawdown.

At the time, a lot of bosses here discussed the issues with consistency scores at length and how to go about it. I remember vividly boss Fmaster Donsheddy and many others were strategizing on how one can meet up to the consistency score rules, but I didn't pay attention to all that they were discussing. I was so focused on hitting my targets without breaching the daily drawdown. I began trading it slowly, and by mid-March, I had met the profit target for Phase 1. I was so happy and rushed down to share the good news with the FTA family. Due to my excitement, I did not pay attention to my consistency score, which was over 100%—yeah, it was that bad. Boss Fmaster was the one who called my attention to it because I was waiting for a congratulatory mail and login details for Phase 2, but I got none. That was when it hit me how serious the issue of the consistency score was. Then began my struggles, and I battled bitterly with it.

Also in March, I won a Liquid Market $10k 3-step challenge with no consistency score, a 7% profit target for Phases 1, 2, and 3, a 5% daily drawdown, 7% maximum drawdown, and 35 maximum trading days. By April, I passed my Liquid Market $10k Phase 1 challenge. At that time, I was going through very serious financial stress; I was completely broke and didn't even have data to trade. I had always used Stark VPN as a backup whenever I ran out of data because they gift free 50MB of data daily on MTN. I activated it and then logged in to my MT5 and traded my Quantekel $5k challenge. This ended up breaching my account as I got a mail for a violation of IP address by using a VPN; hence, my account was hard breached.

Realizing what had occurred, I was completely miserable and shattered. I remembered sharing the news with the FTA family, and Mr. D FTA (aka market2profit) called me out and rebuked me with strong words. I honestly won't lie, I was deeply hurt. In my grief, I vowed to avoid all prop firms that have consistency scores; I developed a strong dislike for anything related to consistency scores. I'm also glad to say that I took the scolding without any grudges but with humility and remorse. Then there were bad reviews and bad Trustpilot ratings on Liquid Market. Also, at the time, I remembered either Zimuzor or Bee passing the Liquid Market $10k Phase 1 challenge but being refused Phase 2. Due to that, I abandoned my $10k challenge with them and went back to trading the FTMO $10k trial account, aiming for 5% bi-weekly.

For the remaining months of April, May, June, and July, I was trading my cent account and FTMO $10k trial account. During that period, I was hitting my target of 5% every two weeks back-to-back. Also in that period, I had won a CrystalBallMarket and a SwayFunded $1k 2-step challenge, and I blew both of them up. I then traded a lot of accounts with Vebson prop firm, where I failed some and passed some. For the ones I passed, I needed to pay for the account in order for me to proceed to Phase 2, so I abandoned them. It was a really challenging period for me because I was working on reducing the number of trades I take. I remembered earlier on, within Feb or March, Alexas58 challenged me to stick to trading only one timeframe because I was trading the 15-minute chart but through multiple timeframe analysis. So, I made a transition to the 4-hour chart because I realized that I didn't have the luxury of time to be day trading, and it was at that moment I decided to go into swing trading fully.

By July ending, I won an Instant Funding $5k 1-step challenge. "I’m so fuckin back"—that was how I felt winning the account. I reflected on all my previous failures and challenges, and then I went on trading the account more cautiously than I had done before. I traded the account from August till September, and by mid-September, I got my first breakthrough in 2025. I passed my Instant Funding $5k 1-step challenge and got to the funded stage. However, I was hit with another setback; after receiving my congratulatory mail and my funded certificate, I was asked to pay $55 to gain full access to my funded account.

Boy, I was broken again because $55 was approximately 88k Naira as of then. I had just recently got a job, and my salary is just 70k, of which 30k goes for my monthly transportation to work. I definitely could not raise the money. I began to feel desperate and was contemplating borrowing money to pay for the account, but I've always maintained a strict principle to avoid being in debt by all means, so borrowing money is a big "no" for me. I went on Trustpilot to see the reviews on Instant Funding, and it was very bad, with many reports of Instant Funding scamming their customers by not giving them access to the funded account even after paying the $55 fee. When I checked the official price of the Instant Funding $5k 1-step challenge on their website, it went for $49, so it looked fishy. I tabled it to the FTA house, which encouraged me to abandon the account, and so I did.

Also in September, I had joined the FundedNext monthly competition while participating in the Alexas58 competition as well. I hit 70% within the first two weeks of the month and decided not to trade the account until the end of the FundedNext monthly competition, hoping that I would definitely be among the top 100. But I was not. In my grief, I shared my ordeal with the FTA family, and Mummy Cindy took pity on me and bought a Nostro $5k 2-step challenge on October 1st. I was also among the winners of the Alexas58 competition, where he got me a NairaTrader $200k 2-step challenge, but I blew the account in the first week of the month.

By October 14th, I passed my Phase 1 challenge and moved on to Phase 2. Then, a calamity struck me. I missed two solid trades in the 3rd week of October, either of which would have passed my Phase 2 challenge. Then, in the last week of October, at the start of the week, I missed another successful trade that definitely would have passed my Phase 2, all playing out according to my analysis. I was devastated and couldn't keep my cool; this made me both over-trade and revenge-trade, leading my account to a soft breach for violation of the 2% risk rule on Nostro. Fear struck my heart, and I got back to my senses. I then contacted Nostro support, and my account was unfrozen. I thought about the shame and disgrace I would feel on FTA if I blew the account and how I was going to face Mummy Cindy, so I vowed never to allow such a thing to happen again. I then did a lot of intensive mind reprogramming on myself; I motivated the shit out of myself.

Also at the time, someone from the FTA family who wishes to remain anonymous (of which I'm very obliged to do so) bought me a Maven $5k 2-step challenge on November 1st. Within the first week of November, I made my second breakthrough in 2025 by passing my Nostro Phase 2 challenge and getting to funding. I was so happy that at last, I finally made it to the Promised Land. But I didn't know my joy was going to be cut short abruptly. After passing my KYC, Nostro refused to give me access to my funded account, using the soft breach issue as an excuse. I was deeply hurt, but I didn't waste time grieving my loss. I focused on passing my Maven, and by November 14th, I passed the Maven Phase 1 challenge. In the 3rd week of November, I passed my Phase 2 challenge, getting to the Promised Land once more.

I passed my KYC with Maven and was granted access to my funded account. I was so happy that I finally made it, and I wanted to follow Donsheddy's footsteps in steady withdrawals by aiming for low-hanging fruits. Within the last week of November, I had made 1% (which is $50) on the account, but I could not withdraw it. Maven had scheduled my withdrawal window to be opened on December 9th, meaning I had to wait till December 9th before I could make a withdrawal request. And then, my greed struck me.

I had been battling with my phone for a very long time; I use a Tecno Pop 2 Power 1GB RAM phone which I have been using since December 2022. I've used the life out of the phone and have longed to change it. Also, Christmas is around the corner, and I have been planning a "Detty December" for my family. I wanted to celebrate Christmas in a big way with my family with my first withdrawal. I began to dream and fantasize about the good feelings. I began to reason that waiting two weeks to withdraw $50 was too small and paltry; I could make more in that period, like $200 or $300. Even after the profit split, I'd still be well off. I will use $100 to get a brand-new phone while I use the rest to celebrate Christmas with my family and get everyone a gift, including my dad and mom. That felt like a worthy deed, but alas, I didn't realize that my greed had taken over and was already doing the thinking for me.

As you may be guessing by now, disaster struck again, but in a subtle way. When the first week of December came, I was already in a drawdown of 1%, but I wasn't bothered; rather, I was overconfident. I said to myself that I've seen and been through worse than that and got out. I was in a deep drawdown of 6% on my Nostro Phase 2 challenge and got out and hit my target all in a space of 2 weeks without gambling or taking crazy risks. I still did the same again on my Maven Phase 1 challenge; I was in a 5% drawdown and came out and hit the 8% profit target within 2 weeks as well. "I've seen worse and I got out, there's no need for me to be afraid or panic"—that was how I felt. To be candid, I was cautiously trading the account, but December turned out to be a bad month for me as I was in a losing streak. Before I knew it, 1% drawdown became 3% on the 2nd of December.

Now, all this while, I had completely forgotten that Maven had a trailing daily drawdown based on either balance or equity, and it is very sensitive to floating PnL. I thought it was fixed and that I never lose more than 2% of my account in a day, which is $100. So I was down to $4,840, which was a 3% drawdown, and then I had another 2% loss on the 3rd of December. I got a mail that I breached my account due to daily drawdown.

You can imagine the pain I went through seeing the mail. Of course, I am deeply ashamed to say this; after inspiring so many folks here, I still end up as a failure. I couldn't come out to say the truth, but I also know that I can't hide the truth forever because sooner or later it's definitely going to get suspicious. My biggest pain is that I am back to square one after all my efforts and endeavors. My goal was to end the year with at least a funded account, and I got there three times without being able to hold onto any.

Davigle:
Eku weekend ooo

It's ya boi davigle

Reporting back to baaaaase..... Heella

And ive got some market presents for y'all, you know Santa geopolitical tensions bless us with some gifts and y'all are free ta do wa ever ya wanna do with em

China ramping up supply shocks on silver, you think silver is overbought eh, you ain't seen nathin yet
New ATHs mates

Aaaand uncle Putin ain't smiling this time around, when was the last you see Putin in full military gear, you can bet ur ass that shit iz abou to hit the fans, the last time Putin wore full military uniform was when Russia invaded Ukraine. Food for Goldie sha...

Eaglepixel:
Please give binary rocks my account.
Binary rock please claim the account.
Thanks Alexas

Davigle:
### 1. Biggest Lessons Learned in 2025

**Believing in Myself:** I learned to believe in myself and my capabilities. I have suffered from self-doubt because it took me so long to reach my current level. For a long time, my subconscious was plagued by the fear of whether I would ever achieve success in this business. Having spent four straight years blowing demo accounts and losing one live account, I felt bedeviled by failure. However, when I began passing Phase 1 challenges last year, my perspective shifted. I now have a very strong belief that I can definitely make it in trading.

**Less is More:** I learned that "less is more" in trading. The fewer assets you watch and trade, the more your performance improves. I have found this to be true, as most of my biggest wins come from one or two solid trades rather than a high volume of activity.

**The Virtue of Patience:** I learned the importance of patience—the patience to remain in alignment with the market, the patience to wait for a high-quality setup, and the patience required to manage drawdowns effectively.

**Risk and Psychology:** I learned how to cut my risk and improve my psychology by remaining calm through self-motivation and affirmations. In my experience, surviving a drawdown is more about psychological fortitude and aggressively reducing risk than anything else.

**Technical Simplicity:** I have learned never to trade against the Higher Timeframes (HTF). I now keep my strategy simple, focusing on the basics of price movement: market structure (expansions, retracements, and consolidations) and support and resistance.

---

### 2. Areas That Need Improvement

* **Discipline:** I need to stick strictly to my plans and stay away from the market during low-liquidity sessions.
* **FOMO and Overtrading:** I must continue working to avoid the urge to jump into trades out of a fear of missing out.
* **Timeframe Integrity:** I need to stick strictly to the 4H chart. I sometimes find myself dropping down to the 1H or 30M charts, which invariably leads to overtrading.
* **Emotional Stability:** Remaining calm after a missed trade is vital, as frustration over a missed move is my biggest trigger for FOMO.

---

### 3. Areas I Have Improved In

* **Managing Drawdowns:** I have learned how to play the "long game." By cutting risk aggressively and remaining selective with my trades, I can stay focused and navigate out of difficult periods.
* **HTF Analysis and Bias:** I have improved at aligning my analysis with the higher timeframes and fundamentals. When these elements align, it consistently leads to my most significant wins.

---

### 4. Mistakes Newbies Should Avoid

**Avoid VPNs at All Costs:** Never use a VPN, even if you are offered free data to browse the internet. If you want to make a career out of prop firm trading, avoid VPNs in any form, as they will lead to a hard breach of your account.

**Prioritize Daily Drawdown:** Pay closer attention to your daily drawdown than your maximum drawdown. This is especially critical for firms with a trailing daily drawdown. Daily limits are often the "silent killers" of funded accounts.

**Monitor Floating PnL:** Do not ignore your floating PnL (Profit and Loss). This is how I lost my NairaTrader $200k account—even though I eventually hit my profit target, my floating PnL breached the daily limit before I closed the trade. I suffered the same issue with Maven. If your floating loss hits the daily limit, your account is gone, regardless of whether the trade eventually turns profitable.

**The 1% Rule for Floating Risk:** If possible, never allow your floating PnL to exceed 1% risk. I experienced a soft breach on my Nostro challenge because my floating loss hit 2%, which eventually led to being denied a funded account. Many firms claim to be "balance-based," but floating risk can still breach your account. Don't be fooled; protect your equity.

**Practice Absolute Patience:** Impatience leads to poor decisions and painful regrets. Take it from someone currently dealing with those regrets: patience is the only true antidote to FOMO and overtrading.

**Maintain Accountability:** Find someone to be accountable to, whether it is a mentor or a community like the FTA family. Being transparent about my wins and losses has been essential to my growth. There is great wisdom in receiving a rebuke; never take it for granted.

blackjack21:
Him want amplify the shege to shege-banza.
Na America own dey interest me pass, US done bluff tire wey Trump is now looking like a comedian.

Based on adjusted inflation from 1980, silver is nowhere near all time high. $50 in 1989 if adjusted for inflation today equals $190 dollar and silver is currently at $79. So more higher-high is likely coming if the current demand is sustained until the silver products becomes too expensive and producers are forced to utilize cheaper alternatives.

I was forced to come to Nairaland by the democratic tyranny of the majority.
#IfFoundReturToTelegram

blackman007:
Not just paying the bills, it will change lives 🙏🙏

infofirst:
Wow. Interesting that silver got to 50 as far back as 1980. I just read it up. I quite agree with you that silver is yet to get to her promise price looking at the strength of the monthly candle. We might get to 100in January.

Donsheddy:
Esteemed Members,

After thoughtful discussion, we've decided to create a special space in FTA Nairaland Thread for all of us to reflect on our trading journey in 2025 and look ahead to 2026. To make this happen, we'll be locking the Telegram group from December 27, 2025, Saturday at 12:00 AM to January 3, 2026, Saturday at 12:00 AM.

During this time, we'd love for everyone to share their trading experiences on the thread. Please include:

1. What you learned during the course of the year.
2. Areas you discovered that still need improvement.
3. Areas you improved on within the year and how it shaped your trading journey.
4. Mistakes you made that other newbies should avoid.

Also, when our host ALEXA58 opens the 2026 thread on January 1, 2026, we encourage everyone to drop their plans for the new year:

1. How you intend to trade in 2026.
2. Things you want to test or try out in 2026 to improve your trading journey, and how you plan to go about it.

We believe that self-realization, journaling, and holding each other accountable are key ways we can grow together as traders.

Some of our community members have already started reflecting on their 2025 journey, sharing lessons learned and setting goals for 2026. This kind of sharing can be really inspiring and helpful for everyone.

Thank you for being part of this community, and let's make this a productive and supportive space for all of us.

God bless you all,

FTA Admins

infofirst:
Wow. Interesting that silver got to 50 as far back as 1980. I just read it up. I quite agree with you that silver is yet to get to her promise price looking at the strength of the monthly candle. We might get to 100in January.