What Happens When You Breach an AquaFutures Account: Consequences Explained

Written by Paul

Published on

January 12, 2026

When you breach an AquaFutures account, it terminates immediately. On evaluation accounts, you lose all progress and need to restart (paying another month's subscription). On funded accounts, you lose the account, all buffer profits (40% holdback), and any pending payouts. You keep only the profits already withdrawn before the breach.

Quick heads-up: This article is based on my real experience with Aquafutures and the info available when I published/updated this. Things change in prop trading — rules, payouts, promos, all of it.

For the absolute latest, check Aquafutures´s website or their faq page.

There are no warnings, no grace periods, and no reversals for legitimate breaches. The rules are absolute: if your equity drops below your threshold, you're done—regardless of whether you could have recovered.

I'm breaking down exactly what triggers a breach, what happens in the seconds after you breach, what you lose and what you keep, how to

verify if a breach was legitimate, and how to move forward after losing an account.

What Triggers a Breach

You breach when you violate any of these rules:

1. Max Drawdown (5%)

Your account balance drops below your trailing drawdown threshold. On Beginner accounts, this is calculated at 4pm ET close. On Standard accounts, it's calculated intraday in real-time.

Example: $50K account, high water mark $53K, threshold $50,500. If you close at $50,400 (Beginner) or drop to $50,400 intraday (Standard), you breach.

2. Daily Loss Limit (Beginner Only)

Your account drops 2.5% below your starting balance at any point during the session. On a $50K account, that's -$1,250 ($48,750 breach point).

Even if you recover to -$600 by close, the breach happened intraday. Full details here.

3. Wave Stop (Funded Accounts Only)

Your account drops 2% below your starting balance at any point during the session. On a $50K funded account, that's -$1,000 ($49,000 breach point).

Wave stop is stricter than the daily loss limit and resets daily. Full details here.

4. Consistency Rule Violation

A single trading day contributes more than 40% of your total profit (evaluations) or 20% (Instant accounts). Example: $3,000 total profit, one day was $1,500 (50%)—violation.

AquaFutures typically flags this when you request funding or payout, not immediately when it happens. Full details here.

5. Contract Limit Violation

You hold more contracts than your account allows. If your limit is 6 and you open a 7th position, the platform may reject it—or if it executes, AquaFutures may breach your account for violating contract limits.

6. Prohibited Trading Activity

Trading during restricted times (some major news events), using prohibited instruments, or violating other platform rules can trigger breaches.

What Happens in the Seconds After You Breach

Immediate account freeze - The platform locks you out instantly. You can't place new orders, close existing positions, or access your account.

Email notification - AquaFutures sends an automated email: "Your account has been breached due to [specific violation]."

Trade review - AquaFutures logs all trades leading up to the breach for their records and potential dispute review.

Dashboard update - Your account status changes to "Breached" or "Terminated." You can view your final trade history but can't trade.

The entire process happens automatically within seconds of violating a rule. There's no manual review before the breach—only after, if you dispute it.

What You Lose: Evaluation Accounts

When you breach an evaluation account:

❌ All progress toward the profit target - If you were at $2,800 of a $3,000 target, that progress is gone. You start at $0 on a new account.

❌ All trades and win days - If you had 4 winning days and needed 1 more, those 4 don't carry over. New account = new win day counter.

❌ Subscription fees already paid - If you paid $228 over 2 months and breached on Week 8, you don't get a refund. Those fees are gone.

❌ Time invested - However many weeks you spent grinding the evaluation, that time is lost.

✅ Lessons learned - The only thing you keep is experience. You know what not to do next time.

What You Lose: Funded Accounts

When you breach a funded account:

❌ The funded account itself - Access terminates immediately. You can't trade it anymore.

❌ All buffer profits (40% holdback) - If you made $10,000 total and withdrew $6,000, AquaFutures held $4,000 as buffer. That $4,000 is forfeited.

❌ Any pending payout requests - If you requested a $2,000 payout that was still processing, it's canceled. You don't get that money.

❌ Future earnings potential - That funded account could have generated income indefinitely. Now it's gone.

✅ Profits already withdrawn - If you withdrew $6,000 before the breach, you keep that money. AquaFutures can't claw back profits already paid out.

Real Breach Example: Timeline

Monday, 9:45am:

Trader starts at $50,000 (threshold: $48,750 daily loss limit)
Trades 6 ES contracts
Makes $800 profit, account at $50,800

Monday, 11:30am:

Bad trade: -$2,100 loss
Account drops to $48,700
Breach triggered (below $48,750 daily loss limit)
Platform freezes account immediately
Email sent: "Your account has been breached"

Monday, 2:00pm:

Trader logs in, sees "Account Breached" status
Checks trade history: sees the -$2,100 trade pushed him below threshold
Realizes he can't trade anymore

Monday, 4:00pm:

Closes at $48,700 (still $100 below breach point)
Even if he had recovered to $49,500 by close, the breach already happened at 11:30am

Outcome: Evaluation terminated. Trader needs to start a new account if he wants to continue.

Can You Dispute a Breach?

Yes—but only if you believe the breach was a system error or incorrect calculation.

How to dispute:

Email AquaFutures support immediately with:
- Account number
- Date and time of breach
- Your calculation showing you didn't violate the rule
- Screenshots of your dashboard at time of breach
- Specific trades you believe were incorrectly counted
Provide evidence that supports your claim:
- If you think the drawdown calculation was wrong, show your high water mark and threshold
- If you think a trade was counted incorrectly, show your broker feed vs AquaFutures' data
- If you think the breach timestamp is wrong, provide your platform logs
Wait for manual review (24-48 hours):
- AquaFutures reviews your trade data
- They verify threshold calculations
- They check for system errors

Likely outcomes:

Breach upheld (95% of disputes): AquaFutures verifies you did violate a rule. The breach stands. No reinstatement, no refunds.

Breach reversed (5% of disputes): AquaFutures confirms a system error (incorrect price feed, wrong threshold calculation, platform glitch). Your account is reinstated.

Important: AquaFutures won't reverse legitimate breaches even if you have a sympathetic story ("my internet died," "I didn't understand the rule," "I was one trade away from passing"). If you violated a rule, the breach stands—period.

For support details, see the customer support guide.

Common Breach Excuses That Don't Work

These explanations won't get your account reinstated:

❌ "I didn't know about that rule"

All rules are published on AquaFutures' website before you start trading. Ignorance isn't a defense.

❌ "My internet went down and I couldn't close the trade"

You're responsible for managing connectivity risk. Platform issues on your end aren't AquaFutures' responsibility.

❌ "I was just trying to recover losses"

Trading psychology doesn't override rules. Whether you were revenge trading or disciplined trading, the rules apply equally.

❌ "I'm one trade away from passing"

Doesn't matter. If you breached at $2,900 of a $3,000 target, the breach stands.

❌ "The move was too fast, I couldn't exit"

You're responsible for position sizing and stop placement. If your positions were too large to exit safely, that's a risk management failure—not grounds for reversal.

❌ "Other traders do this and don't get breached"

If true, they're either not violating rules or they haven't been caught yet. "Others do it" doesn't make your breach invalid.

What Happens to Your Subscription After a Breach

Evaluation accounts:

If you breach mid-month, your subscription continues through the end of that billing period. You don't get a prorated refund for the remaining days.

Example: You breach on Jan 5th. Your subscription renews on Jan 1st. You've paid for the full month of January—no refund.

Your subscription auto-renews unless you cancel. If you don't cancel, you'll be charged for February even though your account is breached. Cancel immediately after breaching to avoid paying for months you're not using.

Funded accounts:

No subscriptions—funded accounts have no monthly fees. When you breach a funded account, there's nothing to cancel.

Can You Start a New Account After Breaching?

Yes. Breaching doesn't ban you from AquaFutures (unless you violated terms of service like account sharing).

To restart:

Let your emotions settle - Don't restart immediately. Take 24-48 hours to analyze what went wrong.
Review what caused the breach - Was it position sizing? Revenge trading? Not tracking your threshold? Fix the root cause before restarting.
Start a new subscription - Log into AquaFutures, purchase a new evaluation, and start fresh.
Apply lessons learned - Trade more conservatively. Use smaller position sizes. Track your drawdown more carefully.

Cost to restart:

If you breach a Beginner account, restarting costs $114 (one month subscription). If you breach again next month, you've paid $228 total with nothing to show for it.

Most traders breach 2-3 times before passing. Budget accordingly—expect to spend $228-$456 on subscriptions before getting funded.

For restart strategies, see the account reset guide.

How to Avoid Breaching Again

Most breaches come from these mistakes:

1. Trading Too Close to the Threshold

If your threshold is $48,750 and you're at $49,000, you're $250 away from breach. One bad 5-point ES trade with 6 contracts ends your account.

Solution: Give yourself a $500-$1,000 cushion. If you're within $500 of breach, stop trading for the day.

2. Position Sizing Errors

Trading 6 contracts when you should trade 3-4 is the #1 cause of breaches. Larger positions = faster drawdown.

Solution: Use 50-75% of your contract limit. If your limit is 6, trade 3-4 contracts max.

3. Holding Losers Too Long

Hoping a -15 point ES trade recovers to -5 points often leads to a -25 point loss that breaches your account.

Solution: Use disciplined stops (10-15 points) and cut losers quickly. Never hold hoping to "get back to breakeven."

4. Revenge Trading After Losses

Losing $600 and immediately trading again (bigger size) to recover is how you turn a -$600 day into a -$1,500 breach.

Solution: After any loss over $400, stop trading for the day. Reset tomorrow.

5. Trading Through Major News

FOMC and NFP can move ES 50+ points in 30 seconds. If you're holding positions during major releases, you can breach before reacting.

Solution: Close all positions before FOMC, NFP, and CPI. Trade after the volatility settles.

For more risk management strategies, see the EOD drawdown guide.

Breach Rate: How Common Are They?

AquaFutures doesn't publish official breach rates, but anecdotal evidence suggests:

60-70% of traders breach their first evaluation
40-50% breach their second attempt
20-30% breach their third attempt

Most traders eventually pass—but it typically takes 2-3 attempts. If you breach your first account, you're in good company. Learn from it and try again.

Why breach rates are so high:

Prop trading rules are stricter than trading your own account. You can't:

Risk 5% per trade like you might on your personal account
Hold overnight hoping for recovery
Trade through major news
Revenge trade after losses

The discipline required to stay within a 5% drawdown over 6-10 weeks is hard. Most traders breach from one bad day, not from sustained losses.

What About Giveaway Accounts?

If you breach a giveaway account, the same rules apply: account terminates immediately, you lose access, any progress is lost.

The difference: giveaway accounts are free, so you're not out any money. You can't "restart" a giveaway account—once it's breached, it's gone.

Psychological Impact of Breaching

Breaching hurts—especially if you were close to passing.

Common emotions:

Frustration - "I was so close to $3,000"
Anger - "One bad trade ruined everything"
Self-doubt - "Maybe I'm not cut out for prop trading"
Regret - "I should have stopped trading when I was up"

These emotions are normal. Every successful prop trader has breached accounts. The difference between traders who eventually succeed and those who quit is how they respond to breaches.

Healthy response:

Take 24-48 hours off
Review what went wrong (position sizing? Revenge trading? News event?)
Identify the specific mistake
Create a plan to prevent it next time
Restart with a clearer strategy

Unhealthy response:

Immediately restart and trade aggressively to "make up for lost time"
Blame AquaFutures, the rules, or the market
Ignore the root cause and repeat the same mistakes
Give up entirely

Breaching is feedback—not failure. Use it to improve.

Final Thoughts: Breaches Are Part of the Process

Every funded trader has breached at least one evaluation account. It's how you learn where your edge breaks down under strict rules.

If you breach:

Don't panic
Review what went wrong
Fix the root cause (usually position sizing or holding losers too long)
Restart with a better plan
Trade more conservatively

The goal isn't to never breach—it's to learn from breaches and eventually pass. Most traders succeed on their 2nd or 3rd attempt after incorporating lessons from their breaches.

You're not a failure for breaching. You're a failure only if you quit.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens when you breach an AquaFutures account?

The account terminates immediately. On evaluations, you lose all progress and need to restart (paying another subscription fee). On funded accounts, you lose the account, all buffer profits (40% holdback), and any pending payouts. You keep only profits already withdrawn before the breach.

Can AquaFutures reverse a breach?

Only if the breach was a system error (incorrect price feed, wrong threshold calculation, platform glitch). If you legitimately violated a rule—even by $1—the breach stands. 95%+ of disputed breaches are upheld as legitimate.

Do I get a refund if I breach my evaluation?

No. Subscription fees are non-refundable. If you paid $228 over 2 months and breached on Week 8, you don't get that money back. This is standard across prop firms.

Can I start a new account after breaching?

Yes. Breaching doesn't ban you from AquaFutures (unless you violated terms like account sharing). You can purchase a new evaluation and start fresh. Most traders breach 2-3 times before passing.

What if I breach due to internet problems or platform issues?

You're responsible for connectivity and technical risks. If your internet died and you couldn't close a losing trade that breached your account, the breach stands. AquaFutures won't reverse it.

Do breaches happen immediately or at market close?

Depends on the rule. Max drawdown on Beginner accounts is calculated at 4pm ET close (EOD). Daily loss limit and wave stop are enforced intraday in real-time. If you violate an intraday rule, you breach instantly—even if you would have recovered by close.

How many times can I breach before being permanently banned?

Breaching doesn't result in permanent bans unless you're violating terms of service (account sharing, fraud). You can breach 5, 10, 20 times—as long as you keep paying subscription fees, you can keep trying.

What happens to my funded account if I breach?

Immediate termination. You lose the account, all buffer profits (40% holdback), and any pending payouts. You keep profits already withdrawn. The funded account can't be recovered—you'd need to pass a new evaluation to get another funded account.