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How does the balance in my user area work?

admin
23/03/2026
Crediti

The user area features two distinct balances:

Before contacting us

Frequently Asked Questions

What is The Thunder Trader?

The Thunder Trader It is a platform dedicated to evaluating trading performance.
Through Performance Arenatraders can measure their trading skills in a structured, transparent, and meritocratic environment, based solely on achieved results.

This is not a prop firm and not a traditional challenge: there are no punitive rules or mechanisms designed to hinder participants. Only proven performance matters.

What is the Performance Arena?

The Performance Arena It is a ranking-based trading assessment program.
Participants operate in Forex or Crypto markets according to clear and predefined rules.
At the end of each cycle, the top performers receive a reward determined by the final ranking position.

How does the Performance Arena work?

Select the participation level that best fits your trading style.
Access the trading environment for the active cycle.
Trade freely while complying with the core rules.
Performances are ranked in a final standing.
The top-ranked traders receive a performance-based payout.

How long does a Performance Arena cycle last?

Cycles can have weekly, daily, or hourly durations.
Currently only weekly cycles are available.

How is the ranking calculated?

The ranking is based exclusively on trading performance.
The system utilizes a a mathematical model based on rankingwhich assigns a higher weight to top-ranking positions.

Calculation criteria are defined before the start of the cycle and and cannot be modified once the Performance Arena has started.

Percentage of compensated participants

Participants

Compensated

10 – 19

Top 3

20 – 49

30% dei partecipanti (pos 6-14)

50+

35% of Participants (pos 17+)

How is the Performance Reward determined?

The Performance Reward is determined by your final leaderboard ranking. The structure is based on percentages that scale according to the number of participants, while always maintaining:

a strong incentive for the top positions
system sustainability
total transparency

Higher rankings receive a larger Performance Reward, while lower positions receive a proportionally smaller amount.

Performance Reward Distribution Examples

Example: 50/500 Participants

With 500 participants and a $500 entry fee:

Total fees collected: $250,000
Platform service fee (20%): $50,000
Budget allocated to theReward Allocation: $200.000

In this scenario:

The 35% of the participants receives a Performance Reward.
The first-place trader receives approximately the 23,9% of the total
The last compensated position receives a smaller share, proportional to its ranking

Example: 10/19 Participants

With 18 participants:

Total budget allocated for rewards: $7,200
Top 3 Participants receives a Performance Reward.
The first-place trader receives approximately the 57,7% of the total

PERFORMANCE ARENA WITH 10–19 PARTICIPANTS

Rewarded Participants: Top 3

Rank

% of the Reward Allocation

Example of compensation*

1st

~57.7%

~$4,150

2nd

~26.0%

~$1,870

3rd

~16.3%

~$1,170

*Example based on 18 Participants × $500 entry fee

Minimum 10 participants required

Example: 20/49 Participants

With 48 participants:

Budget complessivo destinato al compenso: $19,200
The 30% of the participants receives a Performance Reward.

The first-place trader receives approximately the 35,8% of the total

PERFORMANCE ARENA WITH 20–49 PARTICIPANTS

Compensated: 30% of participants

Rank

% of the Reward Allocation

Example of compensation *

1st

~35.8%

~$6,880

2nd

~16.2%

~$3,100

3rd

~10.1%

~$1,945

4th

~7.3%

~$1,397

5th

~5.6%

~$1,081

6th–10th

~17.1% (combined)

—

11th–14th

~7.9% (combined)

~$331 (last compensated)

* Example based on 48 Participants × $500 entry fee

Beyond 50 participants

PERFORMANCE ARENA WITH 50+ PARTICIPANTS

Compensated: 35% of participants

Rank

% of the Reward Allocation

Example of compensation*

1st

~23.9%

~$47,804

2nd

~10.8%

~$21,542

3rd

~6.8%

~$13,514

4th

~4.9%

~$9,707

5th

~3.8%

~$7,510

6th–10th

~11.4% (combined)

—

11th–175th

~38.6% (combined)

~$126 (last compensated)

*Example based on 500 participants × $500 entry

Can the Performance Reward structure change during the cycle?

No.
Once the Performance Arena has started, the payout structure and criteria are locked and non-modifiable.

Are there minimum activity requirements to be ranked?

Yes. To ensure that the ranking reflects real performance and not a single lucky shot, every Participant must meet minimum activity requirements:

Weekly events: minimum 3 operative sessions and 6 closed trades
Daily events: minimum 1 operative session and 4 closed trades

What are the participation costs?

The only cost involved is the Performance Arena entry fee.
There are no additional costs, hidden commissions, or subsequent expenses.

A portion of the fee is retained as a platform service fee, while the remainder is allocated to theReward Allocation.

Are there any hidden costs or additional commissions?

No.
The fee structure is simple, clear, and communicated before entry to every cycle.

How is the payout issued?

Once the cycle ends, the traders ranked in the compensated positions receive the corresponding amount directly into their Available Balance, in accordance with the modalities set out by the platform.

Can I participate in multiple Performance Arena Events at the same time?

Yes, with no numerical limit. With a single platform account you can enter any number of Events in parallel, including across different tiers. Each entry opens a dedicated demo account for that specific Event, with its own demo capital, operational limits and ranking, independent from the others. Performance Rewards earned in each Event are calculated and credited separately.

What is NOT permitted:

Holding more than one demo account within the same Event (clause 5.2 of the T&C)
Opening a second platform account to duplicate entries (clause 5.1 of the T&C, detected automatically)
Coordinating strategies with other Participants, copying their trades or sharing Performance Rewards (clause 15.1 of the T&C)

Can I use the same EA / algorithm across multiple Events in parallel?

Yes. An EA, script or automated system developed or configured by you may be run simultaneously on your demo accounts across multiple distinct Events: it remains your personal skill applied to multiple parallel Events, regardless of how many. What is prohibited is the use of third-party copy-trading services external to the Platform and mirror-trading between demo accounts belonging to different Participants (clause 15.1 of the T&C).

Is there a minimum number of participants?

Yes.
Every Performance Arena needs a minimum of 10 participants to start.

What happens if the minimum number of participants is not reached?

If the minimum number of participants is not reached:

The cycle is automatically cancelled
All fees are fully refunded
L’importo viene accreditato nel balance dell’utente
No action is required from the participant.

Why is there a minimum number of participants?

The minimum number ensures that:

the comparison is statistically significant
the ranking reflects the traders' actual skill
the payout is based on performance rather than chance

Is a profit guaranteed by participating?

No.
The participation doesn't guarantee any profit..
Only the top-performing traders within the cycle receive a payout.

Can I access The Thunder Trader if I reside in the United States?

Yes. The Thunder Trader is accessible to United States residents, with three exceptions: Washington (WA), Nevada (NV) and Hawaii (HI).These exclusions reflect specific local regulations on skill-based competitions and consumer protection.

For all Participants residing in the United States, an individual arbitration clause (with class action waiver), as set out in Article 25 of the Terms and Conditions.

Right to opt out. Every US Participant has the right to opt out of the arbitration clause within 30 days from the date of acceptance of the Terms and Conditions (corresponding to the account registration date).

To exercise the opt-out, send a written notice to legal@thethundertrader.com containing:

Full name registered on the account
Account email address
Registration date
Express statement: "I hereby exercise my right to opt out of the arbitration clause set forth in The Thunder Trader Terms and Conditions."

A validly exercised opt-out has no consequence on the relationship with The Thunder Trader nor on access to Performance Arena Events.

Can I register on the Platform from my country?

The Platform is accessible from most of the world, but some jurisdictions are excluded for regulatory or international compliance reasons.

You cannot register if you are a resident, domiciliary or citizen of:

Countries subject to international sanctions: Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Syria, the Crimea region, the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and any other jurisdiction under EU / UN / OFAC / UK HM Treasury sanctions;
Hong Kong (HKSAR)in light of specific local regulations on contests, skill and consumer protection;
United States of America – States of Hawaii (HI), Nevada (NV) and Washington (WA), in light of specific local regulations on contests, skill and consumer protection. Residents of the other 47 US States can access normally.

Full details and contractual conditions are set out in clause 6 of the Terms and Conditions.. Attempting to register from an excluded jurisdiction results in automatic account blocking and forfeiture of any accrued Performance Reward.

What happens in case of prohibited conduct during a Performance Arena Event?

The Thunder Trader permits every legal trading strategy, including scalping, swing trading, news trading and the use of personal Expert Advisors (EAs) on the Participant's own demo account. The following conducts are however expressly prohibited and result in immediate exclusion from the ongoing cycle, forfeiture of any accrued Reward Allocation and, in severe cases, suspension or permanent termination of the account:

Multi-accounting — creating or using multiple accounts, including through third-party identities, to participate in the same event
Account sharing — use of the demo account by persons other than the registered account holder
Collusion — operational coordination with other Participants to alter the final ranking
Exploitation of technical errors or platform bugs — latency arbitrage, replay of stale quotes, abuse of price delays or platform malfunctions
Operational manipulation — practices not representative of genuine trading activity (e.g. self-trading between linked accounts, wash trading, price manipulation)
Trading on unauthorized instruments — operating on assets not included in the arena scope of the selected Performance Arena Event
Falsified or third-party KYC documents
Circumvention of tier limits — any attempt to operate beyond the maximum exposure or size parameters of the selected tier

Exclusion for prohibited conduct results in the loss of access to the Event Allocation Structure for that event and does not entitle the Participant to any refund of the access cost. Full rules and verification mechanisms (account continuity, identity match, anti-multi-accounting controls) are detailed in the platform Terms and Conditions.

How does the balance in my user area work?

The user area features two distinct balances:

Balance	Description
Available Balance	Purchased Platform Credits. Used to access events. Refundable within 14 days if unused.
Fee Credits Balance	Bonus Credits received through promotions. Can only be used to reduce event entry fees. Non-withdrawable and cannot be converted into cash.

When a Participant enters an event, the system automatically deducts Fee Credits first (up to 50% of the entry fee), with the remaining balance drawn from the Available Balance.

Example: Event fee $500 — Available Fee Credits $100 → $50 deducted from Fee Credits Balance, $450 deducted from Available Balance.

What is the welcome bonus?

Al primo deposito, ogni nuovo Partecipante riceve un bonus del 50% sull’importo depositato, accreditato interamente come Fee Credits, fino a un massimo di $500 di bonus.

The Welcome Bonus is subject to the following terms and conditions:

Applicable exclusively to the first deposit.
I Fee Credits generati dal bonus sono utilizzabili entro 90 giorni dall’accredito. A ciascun Evento a cui si accede, i Fee Credits del bonus coprono una quota della fee pari al 15% per gli Eventi Fighter ($150) e Gladiator ($250) e al 25% per gli Eventi Titan ($500) e Legend ($1000).
Trascorsi 90 giorni dall’accredito, i Fee Credits residui derivanti dal bonus vengono annullati automaticamente.
Questa condizione si applica per garantire equità tra partecipanti indipendentemente dall’importo depositato.
Fee Credits are non-withdrawable, non-transferable, and cannot be converted into cash.

Platform Credits – Refund Policy

Platform Credits are prepaid digital units used exclusively to access Performance Arena events. The purchase of Credits represents the acquisition of a digital asset and does not, in any way, constitute:

a deposit of money
a financial instrument
electronic money
a custodial account

Credits do not earn interest and cannot be transferred between users.

Participants may request a refund for unused Credits within 14 days of purchase, provided they have not been used to access events or services on the Platform. After this period, or once used, Credits are non-refundable.

Fee Credits — including those from the Welcome Bonus — are never refundable.

How is the Performance Reward paid?

Participants who meet the performance criteria set forth within a Performance Arena event may become eligible to receive a Performance Reward.

All trading takes place exclusively in a simulated demo environment. No transactions are executed on real financial markets, nor is third-party capital used.

If eligible:

The results are subject to final verification.
Thunder Trader can perform standard security and compliance checks.
Una volta completate le verifiche, il Performance Reward viene accreditato sull’Available Balance del Partecipante.

L’importo del Performance Reward accreditato sull’Available Balance può essere:

withdrawn via the external payment method selected by the Participant, or
converted into Platform Credits to participate in new events.

Thunder Trader does not manage monetary wallets or custodial accounts. The Performance Reward does not constitute remuneration, professional compensation, financial return, or competitive winnings under the law.

The arena where only real traders dare to compete.

Terms and Conditions

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Risk Disclaimer

The Thunder Trader is operated by LN17 ShapeFuture Limited, a company incorporated in Hong Kong SAR. Registered office: Flat D, 20/F, Eton Building, 288 Des Voeux Road Central, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. CR No. 80441068. BR No. 80441068-000-05-26-A.

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