DNA Funded Review 2026: Is It Worth It? (Updated February 2026)

Is DNA Funded worth it? Yes, if you want broker-backed trading conditions, weekend holding allowed, and up to $600,000 in allocation. No, if you need MetaTrader platforms, educational resources, or a long track record in the industry.

Quick Stats:

• Trustpilot Rating: 3.8/5 (60+ reviews)
• Max Funding: $600,000
• Profit Split: 80% (upgradeable to 90%)
• Standout Feature: Backed by ASIC-regulated DNA Markets

Here’s what most reviews won’t tell you about DNA Funded: they’re one of the few prop firms that actually partner with a regulated broker, giving you access to institutional-grade trading conditions that most competitors can’t match.

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What Is DNA Funded?

DNA Funded is a CFD prop trading firm launched in 2024 that’s backed by DNA Markets, an ASIC-regulated broker in Australia. The firm offers simulated funded accounts from $5,000 to $200,000 per challenge, with a maximum combined allocation of $600,000 across multiple accounts.

Unlike many prop firms that operate independently, DNA Funded’s connection to DNA Markets means traders get access to over 800 CFD instruments with execution quality and spreads that mirror what you’d find at a legitimate retail broker. This broker-backed structure is rare in the prop firm space and provides more credibility than firms with vague liquidity arrangements.

The company is registered as DNA Funded Ltd (Registration No. 2025-00574) in St. Lucia, with CEO Martin Doepke leading operations from their Melbourne office. While they’re new to the industry, the DNA Markets backing gives them infrastructure most startup prop firms take years to build.

DNA Funded Challenge Options

DNA Funded offers four distinct evaluation paths, each designed for different trading styles and risk tolerances.

1-Phase Challenge (Single Helix)

The Single Helix is DNA Funded’s one-step evaluation. You need to hit a 10% profit target while respecting a 4% daily loss limit and 6% total drawdown. There’s no time limit, and you must complete 5 minimum trading days.

Account sizes range from $5,000 to $200,000, with pricing starting at $59 for the smallest account and scaling to $1,209 for the $200,000 challenge. Leverage is capped at 1:50 for forex pairs.

This challenge works well for traders who prefer a single evaluation phase and don’t want to repeat the process. The 10% target is standard across the industry, but the 4% daily loss limit is tighter than some competitors who allow 5%.

2-Phase Challenge (Double Helix)

The Double Helix splits the evaluation into two phases. Phase 1 requires an 8% profit target, while Phase 2 drops to 5%. Daily loss limits are 5% in both phases, with an 8% maximum drawdown. You need 5 minimum trading days per phase.

Pricing is slightly lower than the 1-Phase option, starting at $49 for $5,000 and going up to $1,079 for $200,000. Leverage remains at 1:50 for forex.

The two-phase structure gives you a chance to prove consistency across multiple evaluation periods. The split targets (8% then 5%) mean you’re not rushing to hit one large goal, which can reduce pressure and improve decision-making.

Rapid Challenge (10-Day)

The Rapid Challenge is DNA Funded’s fast-track option. You have exactly 10 days to hit a 5% profit target with a 3% daily loss limit and 5% maximum drawdown. This challenge requires 5 minimum trading days within the 10-day window.

Only four account sizes are available: $10,000, $25,000, $50,000, and $100,000. Pricing runs from $99 to $549. Crypto trading is not allowed in this challenge type, and leverage for forex is reduced to 1:30.

This evaluation suits active traders who can dedicate focused time to passing quickly. The compressed timeline and tighter daily limit mean you need precision and can’t afford many losing days.

Instant Funding

Instant Funding skips the evaluation entirely. You pay a higher upfront fee ($199 for $5,000 up to $979 for $50,000) and get immediate access to a funded account. There’s no profit target to pass, but you’re subject to a 4% trailing drawdown from day one.

Account sizes max out at $50,000 for Instant Funding, not the $200,000 available in other challenges. Leverage is 1:50 for forex. You must trade at least once every 30 days to keep the account active.

This option works for experienced traders who trust their strategy and want to skip the evaluation stress. The trailing drawdown is strict, but there’s no time pressure or profit goal to chase.

DNA Funded Rules and Trading Conditions

Drawdown Rules

DNA Funded uses static drawdown for all challenge types except Instant Funding, which uses trailing drawdown. In the evaluation phases, you cannot exceed the daily loss limit (4% or 5% depending on challenge) or the total drawdown (6% or 8%).

The daily loss limit resets at midnight server time. It’s calculated from your starting balance each day, not your equity. This means open positions don’t trigger the daily limit until you close them.

For Instant Funding accounts, the 4% trailing drawdown follows your highest equity mark. If your account grows from $10,000 to $11,000, your new breach level moves to $10,560 (4% below $11,000).

Minimum Trading Days

All challenges require 5 minimum trading days. A trading day is defined as any day where you execute at least one trade that stays open for a minimum of 60 seconds. Weekends don’t count toward this requirement, but you can hold trades over weekends.

This 60-second minimum rule prevents traders from gaming the system with rapid open-close cycles to hit the minimum day count. The requirement is standard across most prop firms.

Profit Targets

Challenges have specific profit targets that must be met before you can advance or receive funding. The 1-Phase requires 10%, the 2-Phase splits to 8% and 5%, and Rapid requires 5%. Instant Funding has no profit target.

DNA Funded applies a 40% daily profit cap across all account types. This means no more than 40% of your requested payout can come from a single trading day. If you make a huge one-day gain, only 40% of it counts toward your withdrawal.

This rule prevents traders from passing challenges with one lucky trade. It forces consistency across multiple trading days, which is what DNA Funded claims they’re screening for.

Leverage and Trading Hours

Leverage varies by asset class and challenge type:

• Forex: 1:50 (1-Phase and Instant), 1:30 (Rapid)
• Indices and Commodities: 1:10 (all challenges)
• Stocks: 1:5 (all challenges)
• Crypto: 1:2 (1-Phase and 2-Phase only, not available in Rapid or Instant)

You can trade 24/5 during market hours and hold positions over weekends. There’s a news trading restriction: you cannot open or close trades within 10 minutes before or after major economic news releases.

Prohibited Strategies

DNA Funded allows EAs and algorithmic trading on funded accounts, but several strategies are banned:

• High-Frequency Trading (HFT)
• Latency arbitrage
• News scalping
• Tick scalping
• Grid trading
• Martingale strategies
• Reverse hedging between accounts
• Copy trading from external accounts

Using any of these strategies will breach your account, even if you’re profitable and within drawdown limits. The firm monitors for these patterns during their risk reviews before approving payouts.

DNA Funded Pricing

Pricing at DNA Funded is structured by challenge type and account size. Here’s the complete breakdown:

1-Phase Challenge:

• $5,000: $59
• $10,000: $89
• $25,000: $179
• $50,000: $319
• $100,000: $619
• $200,000: $1,209

2-Phase Challenge:

• $5,000: $49
• $10,000: $79
• $25,000: $159
• $50,000: $289
• $100,000: $549
• $200,000: $1,079

Rapid Challenge:

• $10,000: $99
• $25,000: $189
• $50,000: $329
• $100,000: $549

Instant Funding:

• $5,000: $199
• $10,000: $309
• $25,000: $559
• $50,000: $979

The 2-Phase challenge offers the best value at the lower account sizes, while the 1-Phase becomes more competitive at $100,000 and above. Instant Funding costs roughly 3-4x more than evaluation challenges for the same account size.

None of these fees are refundable. Once you purchase a challenge, that money is gone whether you pass or fail. This is standard across most prop firms, but worth noting if you’re planning to test multiple accounts.

DNA Funded Add-Ons

DNA Funded offers two optional add-ons that can be purchased at checkout:

Profit Split Booster

This add-on increases your profit share from 80% to 90%. It costs an additional 20% of the base challenge fee for 1-Phase and 2-Phase challenges, and 30% for Rapid challenges.

For example, a $100,000 1-Phase challenge normally costs $619. Adding the Profit Split Booster brings the total to $742.80 ($619 + 20%). Over time, the extra 10% profit share can make this worthwhile if you’re consistently profitable.

Early Payout Booster

This reduces your payout waiting period from 14 days to 7 days. It’s available for 1-Phase and Rapid challenges and costs an additional 20% (1-Phase) or 30% (Rapid) of the base fee.

Faster payout access improves cash flow, especially for traders who rely on prop firm income. However, it doesn’t change the 5% profit cap on your first three payouts, which may limit how much you can withdraw even with weekly access.

DNA Funded Payout Process

DNA Funded processes payouts every 14 days by default, or every 7 days if you purchased the Early Payout Booster. To request a payout, you must have completed the minimum trading days and maintained at least 3 active trading days since your last withdrawal.

The minimum payout is $100 after profit split. If you’ve earned $150 gross and have an 80% split, your net payout would be $120, which meets the minimum. Anything below $100 after split stays in your account balance.

Payout methods include cryptocurrency and bank transfer. DNA Funded doesn’t charge withdrawal fees, but your payment processor might. Most traders report payout approval within 24-48 hours, with funds arriving 1-3 business days later depending on the method.

Profit Cap on First Three Payouts

DNA Funded enforces a 5% profit cap on your first three payouts. This means you can only withdraw 5% of your starting account balance per payout cycle until you’ve successfully completed three withdrawals.

On a $10,000 account, the maximum you can withdraw per payout is $500 (before your profit split). After three successful payouts, this cap is removed and you can withdraw any amount you’ve earned within the rules.

This cap exists to prevent traders from withdrawing large amounts before establishing a track record. It’s more restrictive than some competitors but less restrictive than firms with permanent profit caps.

40% Daily Profit Distribution Rule

DNA Funded limits how much of your payout can come from a single trading day. No more than 40% of your withdrawal amount can be attributed to profits from one calendar day.

If you request a $1,000 payout and $600 came from one big trading day, DNA Funded will reduce your approved withdrawal to $400 plus whatever you earned on other days. The excess is forfeited when your account resets.

This rule makes it difficult to pass evaluations with one or two large winning trades. You need consistent profits across multiple days, which aligns with DNA Funded’s stated goal of finding disciplined traders rather than lucky ones.

DNA Funded Trading Platform

DNA Funded runs exclusively on TradeLocker, a modern web-based platform developed in 2019. It’s not as feature-rich as MetaTrader 4/5, but it’s faster, cleaner, and easier to navigate for newer traders.

TradeLocker supports one-click trading, multiple chart types, built-in technical indicators, and economic calendar integration. The platform works on desktop and mobile without requiring any downloads. Your login credentials work across all devices.

For traders who rely on specific MT4/MT5 tools or custom indicators, TradeLocker’s lack of compatibility is a dealbreaker. DNA Funded doesn’t offer MetaTrader platforms, and there’s no indication they plan to add them.

The platform gives you access to over 800 instruments across forex, commodities, indices, stocks, and crypto. Execution is handled through DNA Markets’ liquidity providers, which generally results in tighter spreads than you’d find on demo accounts at unaffiliated prop firms.

DNA Funded Pros and Cons

Pros

Broker-backed trading conditions. DNA Funded’s partnership with ASIC-regulated DNA Markets means you’re trading on infrastructure built for real retail clients, not simulated accounts with inflated execution quality. Spreads and slippage match what you’d expect from a legitimate broker.

Weekend holding allowed. Most prop firms prohibit holding trades over weekends to reduce risk exposure during gaps. DNA Funded allows it with a minimum 60-second hold time per trade, which is useful for swing traders.

Up to $600,000 allocation. You can scale to $600,000 total by passing multiple challenges. The $200,000 maximum per challenge is higher than many competitors who cap at $100,000.

Four challenge options. Having 1-Phase, 2-Phase, Rapid, and Instant Funding gives you flexibility to choose based on your trading style and urgency.

No time limits on standard challenges. The 1-Phase and 2-Phase challenges have no expiration date. You can take as long as you need to hit profit targets.

Cons

No MetaTrader support. TradeLocker is the only platform available. If your strategy relies on MT4/MT5 indicators, EAs, or tools, you can’t use them at DNA Funded.

5% profit cap on first three payouts. This limits how much you can withdraw initially, even if you generate larger profits. It takes three successful payout cycles before the cap is removed.

40% daily profit rule. If you have one strong trading day, only 40% of that day’s profit counts toward your withdrawal. This penalizes traders with less frequent but larger wins.

Short track record. DNA Funded launched in 2024, giving them less than two years of operational history. Newer firms carry more risk of sudden rule changes or closure.

No refundable fees. Challenge fees are non-refundable, so failed attempts represent a complete loss. Some competitors offer partial refunds after your first payout.

DNA Funded vs Competitors

DNA Funded competes directly with firms like FTMO, Funded Next, and The5ers. Here’s how they stack up:

DNA Funded vs FTMO: FTMO has a longer track record (since 2015) and offers MetaTrader platforms, which DNA Funded lacks. However, DNA Funded allows weekend holding and offers a faster path to funding with their 1-Phase and Instant options. FTMO caps allocation at $400,000 vs DNA Funded’s $600,000. Both have similar profit splits (80-90%).

DNA Funded vs Funded Next: Funded Next offers cheaper entry pricing on smaller accounts and refundable fees after your first payout. DNA Funded counters with broker-backed conditions and higher maximum allocation. Funded Next allows up to $300,000, while DNA Funded goes to $600,000.

DNA Funded vs The5ers: The5ers uses a growth-based model where your account scales automatically with profits, while DNA Funded requires passing new challenges to increase allocation. The5ers offers MT4/MT5, which DNA Funded doesn’t. DNA Funded has faster initial funding through Instant options.

The choice between firms depends on what you value: track record and platform flexibility favor FTMO, low-cost entry and refunds favor Funded Next, and broker-backed conditions with flexible challenges favor DNA Funded.

Who Should Use DNA Funded?

DNA Funded works best for:

Multi-asset traders. With 800+ instruments including stocks and crypto, DNA Funded gives you more diversification options than forex-only firms.

Swing traders. Weekend holding allowed and no time limits on standard challenges make this a good fit for traders who hold positions for days or weeks.

Traders who value execution quality. The DNA Markets backing means you’re less likely to experience artificial slippage or requotes that plague some prop firms.

Experienced traders who want instant funding. If you’re confident in your strategy and willing to pay more upfront, the Instant Funding option gets you trading immediately without evaluation stress.

DNA Funded is not ideal for:

MetaTrader users. If your strategy depends on MT4/MT5, you’ll need to rebuild everything for TradeLocker or choose a different firm.

Beginners seeking education. DNA Funded doesn’t provide trading courses, webinars, or educational content. You’re expected to arrive with a working strategy.

High-frequency traders. The prohibited strategies list explicitly bans HFT, tick scalping, and similar approaches.

DNA Funded Customer Reviews

DNA Funded holds a 3.8 out of 5 rating on Trustpilot based on 60+ reviews. About 55% of reviews are positive (4-5 stars), while 39% are negative (1-2 stars).

Positive reviews consistently mention fast payout processing, responsive support, and fair trading conditions. Several traders noted they received payouts within 24-48 hours of request approval, which is faster than industry average.

Negative reviews focus on payout denials related to the 40% daily profit rule and IP address security checks. Some traders didn’t realize their single best trading day would be mostly excluded from their withdrawal, leading to frustration when payouts came back lower than expected.

One common complaint involves IP address policies. DNA Funded requires traders to use consistent IP addresses to prevent unauthorized access. If you log in from different locations without notifying support, they may flag your account during payout review. This security measure makes sense but has caught some legitimate travelers off guard.

Overall sentiment leans slightly positive, with most criticism directed at specific rule mechanics rather than outright scam accusations. The firm responds to most negative reviews on Trustpilot, typically within a week.

DNA Funded FAQ

Is DNA Funded legit or a scam?

DNA Funded is a legitimate prop trading firm backed by ASIC-regulated DNA Markets. They’ve processed verified payouts and maintain transparent terms. However, they’re a new firm (launched 2024), which carries inherent risk compared to established competitors.

What is DNA Funded’s profit split?

The standard profit split is 80% to the trader and 20% to DNA Funded. You can upgrade to a 90/10 split by purchasing the Profit Split Booster add-on at checkout.

How long does DNA Funded take to payout?

Standard payout frequency is every 14 days, or every 7 days with the Early Payout Booster. Once you request a payout, approval typically takes 24-48 hours, with funds arriving 1-3 business days later depending on your payment method.

Does DNA Funded allow EAs and algorithmic trading?

Yes, but only on funded accounts, not during evaluations. Several strategies are prohibited including HFT, latency arbitrage, news scalping, and martingale systems. Violating these restrictions will breach your account.

What happens if I fail a DNA Funded challenge?

Challenge fees are non-refundable. If you breach the daily loss limit, maximum drawdown, or violate any rules, your challenge ends immediately. You can purchase a new challenge to try again, but there’s no discount for failed attempts.

Can I hold trades over the weekend at DNA Funded?

Yes, weekend holding is allowed across all DNA Funded challenges. Trades must remain open for at least 60 seconds to count toward minimum trading days.

What is the 40% daily profit rule at DNA Funded?

No more than 40% of your requested payout can come from a single calendar day’s trading. If you make a large profit in one day, only 40% of it counts toward your withdrawal. This rule exists to promote consistent trading rather than one-time wins.

Does DNA Funded offer MetaTrader platforms?

No. DNA Funded operates exclusively on TradeLocker. There is no MT4 or MT5 support.

Final Verdict

DNA Funded is a solid mid-tier prop firm with legitimate backing and competitive features. The partnership with ASIC-regulated DNA Markets gives them better trading conditions than most startup firms, and the four challenge options provide flexibility for different trading styles.

The 3.8 Trustpilot rating with verified payouts indicates they’re honoring withdrawals, though the 40% daily profit cap and 5% payout limit frustrate some traders. These rules are clearly documented, but they’re more restrictive than what you’ll find at firms like FTMO or Funded Next.

If you trade multiple asset classes, hold over weekends, and don’t rely on MetaTrader, DNA Funded is worth considering. The broker-backed execution and $600,000 allocation ceiling are strong selling points. However, if you’re a MetaTrader user or prefer firms with longer track records, established competitors might be a better fit.

For traders who can work within DNA Funded’s rule structure and don’t mind using TradeLocker, the combination of instant funding options, weekend holding, and institutional-grade execution makes this a viable choice in the 2026 prop firm landscape.

Updated February 2026