Blue Guardian at a glance
- Who runs it: Blue Guardian Limited, registered in Saint Lucia, with companies in Dubai. Its founder and CEO is Sean Bainton, and its blog says it was founded in June 2021.
- Platforms (forex accounts): MT5, Match-Trader and TradeLocker; US clients get Match-Trader and TradeLocker only.
- Trading day: 5 PM to 5 PM New York time ("EST" on its pages): 02:30 IST in US summer time and 03:30 IST in winter.
- India: Blue Guardian isn't on RBI's Alert List as updated on 19 November 2025, and India isn't on its list of restricted countries. RBI says an entity not on the list should not be assumed to be authorised, and we're not aware of any ruling by an Indian regulator on prop firm fees; the guide to forex trading in India explains where prop firms sit, and prop firm taxes covers payouts.
Blue Guardian accounts compared
| Account | Target | Daily loss | Maximum loss | Best-day rule | Split | Payouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Instant | None | 3% of initial balance | 6% trailing, locks at the start | 20% | 80% | On request |
| Instant Starter | None | 3% | 5% trailing | 15% | 90% (one payout, $250 max) | On request |
| 1 Step Standard | 9% | 4% of initial balance | 6% trailing, locks at the start | None found | 85% | Every 14 days |
| 1 Step Nano | 10% | 4% | 6% trailing | 50% | 85% | Every 7 days |
| 2 Step Standard | 8% / 4% | 4% | 8% static | None found | 85% | Every 14 days |
| 2 Step Nano | 8% / 5% | 3% | 10% static | 50% when funded | 80% | Every 14 days |
The 1 Step Standard target is 9% for accounts bought from 20 August 2026 (10% before). Older 1 Step Pro, 2 Step Pro and 3 Step accounts are labelled legacy models. On 3 October 2026 the Instant account was listed at $72 for $5,000 and $623 for $100,000 before discount codes; the Instant Starter sells a $5,000 account for about $11 with a single payout of up to $250.
How the daily loss is measured
At 5 PM New York time Blue Guardian takes the higher of your balance and equity and subtracts a fixed percentage of the initial balance. Its own example: on a $100,000 2 Step account with $102,000 of equity at the reset, equity can't fall below $98,000 that day ($102,000 − 4% of $100,000).
The maximum loss on the instant and both 1 Step accounts trails your highest closing balance and locks once it reaches the starting balance, after which a fixed 1% buffer is added. The 2 Step accounts use a static limit from the starting balance.
Guardian Shield
On funded accounts (instant accounts are funded from the start), if the loss on your open trades reaches 2% (1% on instant accounts), Guardian Shield closes all open trades. The first time, your profit split drops to 50% for good; the second time, the account is closed. Keep the combined risk of your open trades under that line, not just each trade's risk. The prop firm lot size calculator helps you size each one.
Leverage
| Account | Forex | Indices | Commodities | Crypto |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Instant and Instant Starter | 1:30 | 1:10 | 1:10 | 1:2 |
| 1 Step evaluation | 1:50 | 1:20 | 1:20 | 1:2 |
| 2 Step and funded accounts | 1:50 | 1:10 | 1:10 | 1:2 |
News, weekends and other rules
- News: allowed in challenges. On funded accounts you can't open or close trades in the 5 minutes either side of high-impact news or FOMC, and profit from that window is removed. Instant Standard accounts bought after 13 November 2025 can't trade news at all; the Instant Starter allows news trading.
- Weekends and overnight: no restrictions on any account type.
- EAs are allowed; copy trading only between accounts you own; trades must be held at least 2 minutes; and using more than 80% of margin is treated as gambling.
- Activity: at least one trade every 30 days, or the account breaches.
Payouts and scaling
- The first payout once 14 calendar days have passed since the first trade (7 with the add-on); instant accounts can request on demand.
- A 3% processing fee on all payouts; minimums of $100 by crypto and $500 by Rise.
- Blue Guardian says payouts are processed within 24 business hours, or it adds 10% to your profit share.
- Scaling: 12% profit over three months adds 30% of the initial balance, up to $4,000,000; the maximum active funded allocation is $400,000.
Where Blue Guardian's pages disagree
Its help centre says the fee is refunded after the fourth payout (except on Instant Starter), while its refund policy says all sales are final. Leverage also differs between the platform rules and the checkout terms. Follow the rules page for your account type and check your dashboard.
Sizing trades on a Blue Guardian account
Whatever the firm, the rules come down to how much you can lose today and in total. Work out today's room with the drawdown calculator, size each trade from its stop with the prop firm lot size calculator, and check your odds of reaching the target first with the risk of ruin calculator.