1. Who we are and what these terms cover
These terms of service (the “Terms”) are a contract between you and StarTrading Ltd, a private limited company incorporated in the Republic of Cyprus, whose registration number and registered office are stated in the imprint (“StarTrading”, “we”, “us”). They govern your use of the website startrading.io, the trader dashboard at app.startrading.io, and every product listed on the pricing page.
By creating an account, buying an evaluation or using a funded account, you accept these Terms, the risk disclosure, the refund policy, the privacy policy and every rule published under Trading rules. The rule pages are part of these Terms. If a rule page and these Terms conflict, these Terms prevail.
2. What StarTrading is, and is not
StarTrading sells evaluations of trading skill on simulated futures accounts and funds the traders who pass them on further simulated accounts, then on live accounts through the Live program. Every evaluation and every funded account before the Live stage is a simulation: no order reaches an exchange, no real money is traded, and the balance shown is a score.
StarTrading is not a broker, a futures commission merchant, an introducing broker, an investment adviser or a commodity trading adviser. We do not hold client funds for trading, we do not execute trades for you and we do not give investment advice. Nothing on the site, in the dashboard or in our communications is a recommendation to buy or sell any instrument.
3. Eligibility
You may use StarTrading only if all of the following are true:
- you are at least 18 years old and have the legal capacity to enter a contract;
- you act in your own name, with your own funds, and not on behalf of another person;
- you are not resident in a country or territory subject to comprehensive sanctions (at the time of writing: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Russia, Belarus, and the Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine) nor in a country listed as high-risk by the Financial Action Task Force; the current list is shown at signup;
- you are not subject to sanctions and you are not an employee or contractor of StarTrading or of a company of its group.
We may ask for identity documents at any time through our verification provider (privacy policy, section 4). A funded account is only activated and a payout is only paid after a successful verification. One person may hold several accounts within the limits published on the rules pages, but never under another name.
4. Products, fees and activation
Each product is an evaluation account or a Direct account of a given type and size (for example a 100K Cycle), on the Rithmic or Tradovate stack. The price shown at checkout is a one-time fee in US dollars, plus any applicable VAT or sales tax, and it is the whole price of the evaluation: there is no subscription, no activation fee and no time limit. The options and their surcharges are listed on the pricing page. A reset, when the product allows one, is a new evaluation on a new account at the reset price published for that product.
Your credentials are sent by email after payment. A Direct account is funded from the first trade, at the price and under the limits shown on the Direct accounts page.
The fee is a charge for the evaluation service. It is not a deposit, not a margin and not an investment; it is not refundable except as stated in the refund policy.
5. The rules
The objectives and the limits of each account (profit target, Max Loss Limit, Daily Loss Limit, position limits, consistency rule, buffer, payout goals and caps, flat time, news windows) are published for every type and size on the comparison page and explained rule by rule under Trading rules. They are calculated by our systems from the data of the platform, and the platform’s data prevails over any figure shown in a third-party front-end.
Only a breach of the Max Loss Limit, a breach of the funded Stream news window, or a prohibited practice ends an account. A Daily Loss Limit breach pauses trading until the next session. A consistency breach delays the pass or the payout. Flat time closes positions without ending the account. These consequences are described on each rule page.
We may change a rule for new purchases at any time. For accounts already bought, a change applies only if it is favourable to you, or after 30 days’ notice by email, or immediately when required by our platform providers, an exchange, a regulator or the law.
6. Funded simulated accounts
When you reach the profit target of an evaluation without breaching a limit that ends the account, we activate a funded simulated account of the same type and size, generally within 5 to 30 minutes. The funded account has its own limits, listed on the same pages. The funded account remains a simulation; the profit shown is a score that becomes a payout right only under the payout policy.
A funded account is inactive if it has not traded for 30 consecutive calendar days and may be closed after notice.
7. Payouts
A payout is a payment by StarTrading of the share of the simulated profit defined in the payout policy: 90% of the amount approved, from a minimum request of $500, within the goals and caps of the account type. A payout request is reviewed for compliance with the rules and with section 8. An approved payout is sent within 2 business days by the method selected in the dashboard; bank and provider fees may apply.
Payouts are not guaranteed. A request is declined when the rules are not met, when a prohibited practice is identified, when identity verification is incomplete, or when the account is under review. Declining a payout for one of these reasons is not a breach of these Terms by StarTrading.
8. Prohibited practices
The practices listed on the prohibited practices page, on the copy trading page and on the bots and algos page are prohibited on every account. They include, without limitation: hedging across accounts or with another person, high-frequency trading, exploiting latency, delayed data or platform errors, group trading of one account, account sharing, use of another person’s identity, and any behaviour whose purpose is to obtain a payout without genuine trading skill.
If we identify a prohibited practice we may cancel the trades concerned, close the account, withhold pending payouts, and refuse future purchases. Amounts already paid for an evaluation are not refunded in that case.
9. Your account and security
You are responsible for keeping your login and platform credentials confidential and for every action taken with them. Tell us immediately at [email protected] if you suspect unauthorised access. You may not sell, rent or transfer an account.
10. Platforms and third parties
Trading takes place on Rithmic or Tradovate and on the front-ends compatible with them. Those services belong to third parties and are subject to their own terms, fees and availability. We are not responsible for their outages, data errors or changes. Market data is provided under the exchanges’ terms; you agree to use it for your own trading only.
11. Intellectual property
The site, the dashboard, the rulebook, the calculators, the texts and the brand are the property of StarTrading or its licensors. You may quote the rule pages with attribution. You may not copy the site, scrape it at scale, or use the brand without written permission.
12. Suspension and termination
We may suspend or close your account for a breach of these Terms, a prohibited practice, a chargeback, a failed verification, a legal requirement, or a sanction. You may close your account at any time from the dashboard. Termination does not entitle you to a refund except under the refund policy, and does not affect payouts already approved unless they are linked to a breach.
13. Disclaimers
The service is provided “as is”. Simulated results do not represent real trading and are not an indication of future results (see the risk disclosure). We do not warrant that the platforms, the data or the site will be available without interruption or error.
14. Liability
To the extent permitted by law, StarTrading’s total liability for all claims arising from these Terms or your use of the service is limited to the fees you paid to StarTrading in the 12 months preceding the claim. We are not liable for indirect losses, loss of profit, loss of data or loss of opportunity. Nothing in these Terms limits liability for fraud, gross negligence, or any liability that cannot be limited by law.
15. Indemnity
You will indemnify StarTrading against claims, losses and costs arising from your breach of these Terms, a prohibited practice, or your violation of the law or of a third party’s rights.
16. Changes to these Terms
We may update these Terms. The version and date at the top of this page identify the current text. Material changes are announced by email at least 30 days before they apply to existing accounts. Continued use after that date is acceptance.
17. Governing law and disputes
These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of Cyprus. Any dispute that is not resolved amicably within 30 days is submitted to the courts of the Republic of Cyprus. If you are a consumer, the mandatory rules of your country of residence continue to apply, including the right to use the European Commission’s online dispute resolution platform where it is available to you.
18. Contact
StarTrading Ltd, Republic of Cyprus, at the registered office stated in the imprint. Email: [email protected]. Questions about these Terms should be sent to [email protected].