How to Use DXtrade for Crypto Prop Trading

DXtrade is the platform Velotrade runs on. It is an institutional-grade, browser-based trading environment built by Devexperts and used by professional prop firms globally. If you are starting a Velotrade challenge, understanding DXtrade is not optional — the platform is where every trade, every drawdown calculation, and every payout originates.

This guide covers everything a prop trader needs to get comfortable fast: setup, interface, order types, drawdown monitoring, EA integration, and the specific settings that matter most when trading under funded account rules.

What Is DXtrade?

DXtrade is a multi-asset trading platform built by Devexperts, a financial technology firm with clients across institutional brokerage, prime services, and proprietary trading. It was built as an alternative to aging retail platforms like MT4 and MT5, with a cleaner interface, a more reliable execution layer, and native support for modern asset classes including crypto perpetuals.

Several professional prop firms have moved to DXtrade specifically because of its account-level risk controls and real-time metric visibility. For a prop trader, these are not cosmetic features. The ability to monitor your drawdown floor and daily loss against live equity in one panel is directly relevant to challenge execution.

DXtrade runs in any modern browser. There is no download or installation. It also has native iOS and Android apps for mobile trading. Any device with a browser and an internet connection can access the platform without configuration changes.

Getting Set Up on DXtrade via Velotrade

After purchasing a challenge at velotrade.com/challenges, your account credentials are sent to the email used at checkout. The email includes your DXtrade login URL, username, and a temporary password.

Steps to get started:

1. Open the DXtrade login URL from your credentials email in a desktop browser
2. Enter your username and password, then change the password on first login
3. Select the account linked to your challenge from the account selector at the top of the screen
4. Review your account balance, equity, and current drawdown parameters before placing any trade
5. Familiarize yourself with the positions panel and account metrics before your first session

If you are running multiple Velotrade accounts — for example, a 2-step and a 1-step challenge — each account appears separately in the account selector. Trades on one account do not affect the drawdown or metrics of another.

For the full breakdown of what the challenge rules require before placing your first trade, read crypto prop firm rules and drawdowns explained.

Platform Overview: Key Areas

DXtrade is organized into 4 core areas. Understanding each one before starting a challenge saves time that would otherwise be spent navigating under pressure.

Charts Panel

The main trading view. DXtrade integrates professional-grade charting with support for standard technical analysis tools — trend lines, indicators, candlestick and bar chart formats, and multi-timeframe switching. You can open multiple chart windows simultaneously and resize them to fit your workflow.

Crypto perpetual pairs including BTC/USD, ETH/USD, and the other instruments available on Velotrade are accessible from the instrument search in the charts panel. Switch between pairs directly from the chart header without navigating away.

Order Ticket

The order entry interface. Available from the chart panel or from the positions panel below. Displays the current bid/ask spread, lets you select order type and quantity, set stop-loss and take-profit levels, and review margin requirements before submission.

Order entry and modification are single-screen — no popups that require multiple confirmations for basic actions.

Positions and Orders Panel

All open positions, pending orders, and the history of closed trades appear here. Live P&L on each open position updates in real time. You can modify or close positions directly from this panel without returning to the chart.

The positions panel is where most active session management happens. Keeping it visible during a session reduces reaction time when managing against daily loss limits.

Account Metrics Panel

This is the most important panel for prop traders. It displays:

• Current equity — your account balance plus all unrealized P&L from open positions
• Daily P&L — profit or loss generated since the daily drawdown reset at 00:30 UTC
• Available margin — how much of your account remains free for new positions
• Drawdown floor — your maximum overall loss limit, updated at end-of-day on Velotrade's EOD trailing model

Check this panel before opening any new position. It is the live source of truth for where you stand against your challenge limits.

Order Types in DXtrade

DXtrade supports the standard order types a prop trader needs. Here is how each one applies in a crypto prop trading context.

Market Order

Executes immediately at the current market price. Best used when speed of entry matters more than price precision — news setups, breakout entries where you need to be in now. Slippage is possible during low-liquidity periods or high-volatility events, so account for spread cost in your position sizing.

Limit Order

Executes at your specified price or better. Used when you want precise entry control — for example, buying a pullback to a support level rather than chasing price. The order sits in the book until filled or cancelled.

Stop Order

Triggers a market order when price reaches your specified level. Used for breakout entries (buy stop above resistance, sell stop below support) or for setting stop-losses on open positions. On DXtrade, stop orders for risk management can be attached to positions directly at entry.

Stop-Limit Order

Combines a stop trigger with a limit execution. The stop activates the order, but it only fills at the limit price or better. Useful when you want breakout entry but need price precision to avoid poor fills in fast-moving markets.

Trailing Stop

Moves your stop-loss automatically as price moves in your favor, by a fixed distance in points or percentage. Useful for locking in profits on trending positions without manual adjustment. On Velotrade's EOD trailing drawdown model, trailing stops on individual positions work independently of the account-level drawdown calculation.

For a clear explanation of how Velotrade's EOD drawdown floor behaves and why it differs from tick-by-tick trailing models used elsewhere, see EOD trailing vs tick-by-tick trailing drawdown explained.

Monitoring Your Drawdown and Account Metrics

This is where prop trading on DXtrade differs materially from retail trading. On a personal account, a bad day is just a bad day. On a challenge, a bad day can end the evaluation. The account metrics panel is not a reference tool — it is an active session monitor.

How Velotrade's EOD Drawdown Works in Practice on DXtrade

Velotrade uses an end-of-day trailing drawdown. The High Water Mark (HWM) is recorded once, at the close of each trading day. The drawdown floor is set at 90% of that HWM.

What this means inside DXtrade:

• Your equity can spike during a session without permanently tightening your floor
• Only the equity at day close determines whether the HWM moves
• The floor never moves intraday, and never moves down

If you open DXtrade mid-session and your equity is temporarily above your previous day close, that unrealized gain does not change your drawdown floor until the day ends. This is a direct advantage over tick-by-tick trailing drawdown used by other firms, where the same intraday spike would immediately reduce your available buffer.

Practical rule: before entering a new position, check your current equity against your drawdown floor in the account panel. If the gap between your equity and the floor is tighter than your intended position risk, reduce size or wait.

To model your exact drawdown floor and daily loss budget for your Velotrade account size, use the prop trading drawdown calculator.

Daily Loss Limit Reset

At 00:30 UTC, DXtrade resets the daily loss counter based on your closing balance from the prior day. This is the start of a new trading day for Velotrade's risk calculations. If you traded late into the night and want to continue into the next session, check that the daily counter has reset correctly before opening new positions.

Ready to get funded? Start your Velotrade challenge →

Customizing Your Workspace

DXtrade allows layout customization. The default layout works, but a few configuration changes improve session management significantly for prop trading.

Prioritize the account metrics panel. Move it to a visible position that you will check between every trade. Hiding it behind other panels defeats the purpose of having real-time drawdown data.

Set up a watchlist for your active pairs. If you trade BTC/USD and ETH/USD consistently, a dedicated watchlist with those pairs eliminates instrument search time during fast-moving markets.

Use multi-chart layouts for correlation monitoring. If your strategy involves watching related pairs (e.g., BTC and ETH together), a dual or quad chart layout keeps both visible without switching. DXtrade supports flexible grid layouts.

Save your layout. DXtrade preserves workspace layouts between sessions. Once you have configured a setup that works, save it. You should not be reconfiguring your workspace at the start of each session.

Trading on Mobile

DXtrade's mobile apps for iOS and Android provide the core desktop functionality in a mobile layout: charts, order entry, position monitoring, and account metrics. The interface is condensed but functional.

For active intraday trading, mobile is a secondary device — the screen real estate limits how much you can monitor simultaneously. Where mobile is genuinely useful:

• Monitoring open positions when away from your desk
• Closing or adjusting positions during unexpected market moves
• Checking account metrics against daily limits when you are not at your station

Do not use mobile as your primary execution environment for challenge trading unless your strategy only requires periodic position checks rather than active management. The reduced visibility of account metrics in the mobile layout creates room for error.

Download links for both platforms are available through the DXtrade app store pages. Your login credentials from the desktop platform work on mobile without changes.

EA and API Integration on DXtrade

DXtrade supports algorithmic trading through its API. Expert advisors and automated systems can connect directly to execute orders, manage positions, and read account data programmatically.

Velotrade permits EA and automated trading within defined parameters:

• Permitted: Automated strategies that execute valid market positions
• Not permitted: Latency arbitrage, tick scalping designed to exploit platform data feeds, coordinated multi-account manipulation

Before deploying any automated system on a Velotrade challenge, verify that its behavior complies with the full rules page. A system that passes backtesting but exploits platform simulation behavior will be flagged. The distinction is whether the strategy would work on a live exchange — if not, it is non-compliant.

For API setup, the DXtrade API documentation is available through the Devexperts developer portal. The API supports REST and WebSocket connections for order submission, account data retrieval, and real-time position updates. Authentication uses your DXtrade account credentials.

If you run an EA that was built for MT4 or MT5, it cannot connect to DXtrade directly — the API is different. You will need a DXtrade-compatible adapter or to rebuild the logic using the DXtrade API. Allow time for testing before starting a funded challenge with any automated system.

Tips for Prop Traders on DXtrade

These are the operational habits that separate traders who get tripped up by platform mechanics from those who do not.

Know your daily reset time. Velotrade's daily P&L counter resets at 00:30 UTC. Plan session timing around this. Trading in the final minutes before reset with limited daily loss remaining creates unnecessary pressure.

Check metrics before every trade, not after. Looking at your equity and daily loss limit after you have already opened a position is reactive. Build the habit of checking the account panel before size is committed.

Use limit orders for planned setups. Market orders during volatile periods cost spread. For setups you have planned in advance — a breakout level, a support entry — a limit order gives you the fill you modeled in your risk calculation rather than a worse one.

Test your EA in demo first. DXtrade allows you to open a practice account before funding a challenge. Use it. An EA that behaves incorrectly under live conditions on your first day of a paid evaluation is an avoidable problem.

Understand what "equity" means in the context of your drawdown. Your account balance is what you close days at. Your equity is balance plus unrealized P&L. The drawdown floor on Velotrade is calculated against your balance at end of day, not live equity. This means temporary intraday dips do not move your floor — but they do affect your available margin in real time.

For a full practical guide on running a challenge from start to first payout without technical disqualifications, see how to pass a crypto prop challenge. For risk discipline principles that apply regardless of platform, see never get liquidated again in prop trading.

This guide reflects DXtrade's platform features as of April 2026. Platform interfaces are subject to update by Devexperts. Always verify current features and settings in your live DXtrade account. Velotrade challenge rules, pricing, and conditions should be confirmed at velotrade.com/challenges before purchasing.

---