Catalyst

Catalyst is a prediction market trading challenge operated by Trade Catalyst Inc., a Delaware corporation doing business as Catalyst. Catalyst gives each trader a simulated account priced on live Polymarket events, and Catalyst pays a fixed cash amount when the trader passes. The domain is tradecatalyst.com.

Catalyst says in its own FAQ that it is not a prop firm. The Catalyst Challenge works like a single-stage prop firm evaluation, with a fee, a loss rule and a target, but Catalyst ends at the payout. Catalyst gives no funded account, no firm capital and no profit split. That makes Catalyst closer to a paid skill test with a fixed cash reward than to the firms in our prop firm directory.

Catalyst was founded by Melissa Footlick, who spent 11 years at the futures prop firm Topstep as a founding employee and COO according to Catalyst's company description. Catalyst lists Polymarket markets in politics, economics, sports, crypto and culture. Every market is a YES or NO question priced between 0¢ and 100¢, and the winning side settles at $1 a share.

As of September 2026, Catalyst sells three accounts: Starter at $10, Pro at $59 and Elite at $109. Each fee is a single payment with no subscription. Passing pays a fixed $100, $750 or $1,500 into the Catalyst wallet, and the trader keeps all of it.

The Catalyst payout is set by the account, not by simulated profit. A trader who passes Elite with a small realized gain and a trader who passes with a large one both receive $1,500. Catalyst pays no partial payouts.

Catalyst caps lifetime payouts at $10,000 per trader across all challenges, per its Help Center in September 2026. That equals about six Elite passes and a partial seventh. Payouts already in the wallet stay withdrawable after the cap is reached.

The Catalyst Challenge is a single stage with one loss rule. The trader closes the required number of qualifying trades within 30 days without hitting the trailing max loss. Catalyst has no profit target, no daily loss limit and no minimum trading days, so a trader can pass in one day.

Catalyst cut the qualifying trade count from 15 to 10 on September 10, 2026, for a limited time, on all three accounts. To pass, the trader's realized balance must also sit above the starting balance when the last qualifying trade closes.

How does the Catalyst trailing max loss work?

The Catalyst max loss trails the highest realized balance, called the high water mark. The floor moves up only when a closed trade raises the realized balance. Open losses count against the floor in real time, but open gains do not raise it. An Elite trader at a $16,800 realized high has a floor of $15,800, and an open position down $1,100 ends the challenge at that moment.

Because only closed profit lifts the floor, a Catalyst trader can let an open winner run without tightening the max loss. The floor catches up when the trade is closed.

What does a Catalyst qualifying trade require?

A Catalyst qualifying trade is a fully closed trade with realized profit at or above $50, $250 or $500, depending on the account. Open profit does not count, and each market can produce only one qualifying trade per challenge. A trader passing with 10 qualifying trades needs winners in at least 10 different markets.

On every tier the qualifying amount is one third of the max position per market. A full-size trade needs a 33% gain to qualify, such as buying YES at 30¢ and selling at 40¢ on a $150 Starter position. Smaller positions need a bigger price move to reach the same dollar amount.

Position size and market resolution

The Catalyst max position per market is 1.5 times the max loss on all three accounts. A full-size position that settles at 0¢ loses more than the max loss, so traders who hold to resolution usually size below the cap or sell before settlement.

Catalyst's Terms of Service ban trades that hit the target without real exposure to price movement. Catalyst can void results and revoke a payout for a breach of these rules.

Catalyst deposits the fixed payout to the Catalyst wallet automatically the moment a trader meets every requirement. There is nothing to request and no approval step. From the wallet, the trader withdraws at any time through the payout provider Dots, or uses the balance toward another Catalyst purchase.

Catalyst's Help Center lists these methods as examples, and availability depends on the trader's country. Withdrawals of $100 or more are free, and Catalyst charges a $10 fee below $100. Every Catalyst payout is $100 or more, so a full payout withdrawal carries no fee. There is no minimum withdrawal.

Catalyst runs identity verification at the first withdrawal, not at signup, and collects a W-9 or W-8 tax form through Dots. Catalyst's Terms give traders 90 days from the wallet credit to complete verification and withdraw.

Catalyst's Terms of Service say promo codes cannot be stacked. For codes on other challenges, see the FundedTrading discount codes page.

Catalyst is run by Trade Catalyst Inc., a Delaware corporation with a registered address at 8 The Green #24796, Dover, DE 19901, and a published phone line of +1 (888) 623-5137. Catalyst publishes full Terms of Service and a detailed Help Center covering rules, payouts, KYC and taxes. Catalyst pays through Dots, a global payout provider that also handles identity checks and tax forms.

Trader testimonials on Catalyst's homepage describe fast Challenge payouts, including one bank deposit within 2 minutes of the request.

Catalyst competes with prediction market challenges that lead to a funded account instead of a fixed payout. Maven added funded prediction market accounts in April 2026. Funding Predicts runs a Polymarket-only evaluation backed by the MyFundedFutures team.

Maven figures come from FundedTrading's August 2026 Maven review. Funding Predicts figures come from the Funding Predicts homepage in September 2026. Propr has also announced Polymarket trading, and our Propr review tracks its launch status. To compare standard forex and futures challenges, use the prop firm comparison tool.

Catalyst fits traders who want a low-cost way to test prediction market skill for a known cash amount. The Catalyst Starter account costs $10 and pays $100, every account uses one trailing max loss with no daily limit, and payouts reach the wallet automatically on passing.

Traders who want a funded account and an ongoing profit split will find that model at Maven or Funding Predicts instead. Catalyst pays a fixed amount per challenge, up to $10,000 in lifetime payouts.

Full Challenge rules and the prohibited country list are in the Catalyst Help Center.