From the basics of prop trading to advanced risk management — everything you need to give yourself the best shot at a funded account.
Proprietary trading — or "prop trading" — refers to a firm trading financial instruments with its own capital rather than client funds. Prop trading firms hire or evaluate skilled traders and give them access to large amounts of capital in exchange for a share of the profits.
The modern online prop trading model democratised this concept: anyone can now prove their trading skill through an evaluation challenge from home, and get funded with real capital without risking large sums of their own money.
At zkUmbra, a successful funded trader might deposit $50 for a Starter evaluation, pass two short phases, and then trade a $10,000 account — keeping 80–90% of all profits they generate. This creates an asymmetric opportunity: limited downside, significant upside if you have a proven edge.
Work for an investment bank or hedge fund. Requires financial degrees, years of experience, and relocation to a financial hub.
Prove your edge remotely via an evaluation account. No experience required — just a profitable and consistent strategy.
Trade your own savings, fully at risk. Requires significant personal capital to generate meaningful returns.
The zkUmbra challenge is a two-phase evaluation followed by a funded account. Here is what each phase tests and why:
You are given a demo account (e.g. $10,000 for the Starter) and must reach a 10% profit target — that is $1,000 in this case — while not breaching the 5% daily or 10% overall drawdown limits. This proves you have a genuine positive edge.
With the same account size and same rules, you must reach a 5% profit target. This proves Phase 1 was not a lucky streak. Most traders who have a real edge pass Phase 2 faster than Phase 1.
You trade our capital. There is no profit target — your only job is to avoid the drawdown limits. Profits are split 80–90% in your favour. Scale up over time.
More traders fail the challenge because of poor risk management than poor trading. Understanding and strictly respecting the following concepts is the difference between passing and resetting.
Never risk more than 0.5–1% of your account per trade. At $10,000, that means $50–$100 maximum risk per trade. Most failed challenges come from one or two outsized losing positions.
The 5% daily loss limit resets at midnight GMT. If your account is at $9,500 (5% from $10,000), all positions must be closed for the day — new trades are not permitted.
The 10% max drawdown is measured from your initial balance. If your account ever reaches $9,000 on a $10,000 account, the challenge ends — regardless of profits made before that point.
Passing requires consistency, not luck. Shooting for 10% in 3 trades is a recipe for failure. Gradual, consistent gains with small losses will always beat high-variance approaches.
A 40% win rate with 1:2 risk:reward (1% risk, 2% reward) is more powerful than a 60% win rate with 1:1 R:R. Calculate your expected value before evaluating any strategy.
"Revenge trading" — increasing position sizes after a loss — is the fastest path to a blown challenge. Define your maximum daily trades, stick to your plan, and stop when limits are reached.
Trade as if your goal is to not fail rather than to pass quickly. Protecting downside automatically creates the conditions for consistent upside.
MACH is the utility token powering our wider ecosystem — including the Macchiato app, a Telegram-native engagement and rewards platform. Tokens are earned by completing tasks, referring friends, maintaining streaks, and participating in ecosystem events.
Within zkUmbra, MACH tokens can be redeemed directly as an alternative to paying cash for a challenge. This creates a truly free pathway to a funded account for active participants in the ecosystem.
Download the Macchiato app, complete daily tasks, maintain streaks, refer friends, and participate in special events. Token balances accumulate and can be checked within the app.
When registering for a zkUmbra challenge, select "Redeem MACH Tokens" during checkout. Your token balance is verified on-chain and debited automatically against your challenge cost.
MACH is a utility token within our ecosystem. It is not a speculative investment. Its primary purpose is to reward engagement and allow access to ecosystem services like trading challenges.
Currently MACH tokens are earned through ecosystem participation only. There is no open market purchase mechanism to preserve their utility and prevent speculation.
Start your challenge today or check the full challenge rules to see exactly what you need to achieve.