AquaFunded News Trading: What Is the 0.5% News Profit Cap?
If you are researching AquaFunded because you want to trade CPI, NFP, FOMC or other major releases, the answer is surprisingly straightforward:
AquaFunded allows news trading.
But there is a very important catch.
For accounts opened after April 27, 2026, profits generated during the defined high-impact news window are subject to a 0.5% cap based on the account's starting balance per payout cycle.
You can trade the news.
You can make more than 0.5%.
But only up to 0.5% of the account's starting balance counts.
Anything above that is removed.
And AquaFunded says exceeding the cap does not create a breach or penalty.
That makes AquaFunded a particularly interesting example of a prop firm where:
News trading is allowed, but news profits are treated differently.
So, can you news trade with AquaFunded?
Yes.
AquaFunded's current policy says traders can participate in high-impact news events.
The special treatment applies to trades opened or closed within:
5 minutes before
through
5 minutes after
a red-folder high-impact event.
The same policy also covers FOMC speeches, statements and related announcements.
So the basic structure is:
News trading allowed
5-minute news window
0.5% profit cap
That last part is what makes AquaFunded particularly important to understand.
What exactly is the 0.5% cap?
AquaFunded currently says the cap is:
0.5% of the account starting balance.
It applies to profits specifically generated during the defined news periods.
Any profit above the cap is removed.
There is no account breach or penalty simply because you exceeded the cap.
Example: $100,000 account
Suppose your starting balance is:
$100,000
0.5% of that is:
$500
Now suppose you trade NFP and make:
$1,000
during the qualifying news period.
AquaFunded's current policy says you keep:
$500
and the remaining:
$500
is removed.
The trade does not automatically breach your account.
The profit is simply capped.
This is very different from a news ban
That distinction matters.
A firm can restrict news in several ways.
It can say:
No trading.
Or:
Trade allowed, but profits removed.
Or:
Trade allowed, but profit capped.
AquaFunded falls into the third category.
That means a trader who deliberately trades CPI needs to understand not just:
"Can I place the trade?"
but:
"How much of the trade's profit will actually count?"
That is the economically important question.
The cap is based on starting balance
This is another important detail.
The current AquaFunded policy says the cap is 0.5% of your account starting balance.
It is not described as 0.5% of whatever your balance happens to be on the day of the trade.
So if you started with $50,000:
0.5% =
$250
If you started with $100,000:
0.5% =
$500
If you started with $200,000:
0.5% =
$1,000
That makes it easy to calculate once you know your account size.
Which news events count?
AquaFunded says the relevant high-impact events are identified using Forex Factory and Myfxbook.
Its policy also specifically includes:
Red-folder high-impact events
FOMC speeches
FOMC statements
Related FOMC events
That makes FOMC slightly different from just looking for a single scheduled rate decision.
A trader may need to pay attention to the associated communication as well.
Example: FOMC is not just the rate decision
Imagine the Federal Reserve announces its decision at 2:00 PM.
The market moves.
You think the event is finished.
Then the press conference starts.
The market moves again.
That creates an important issue for any trader whose strategy is based on central-bank news.
The "news event" is not always one isolated candle.
There can be:
The decision.
The statement.
The projections.
The press conference.
Subsequent comments.
That is why AquaFunded's explicit reference to FOMC speeches and statements is worth taking seriously.
What about CPI and gold?
Gold is perhaps the easiest example.
Suppose you have a $100,000 AquaFunded account.
US CPI arrives.
You enter XAUUSD during the relevant news window.
Gold jumps.
Your trade makes:
$2,500
That sounds like a huge win.
But under the 0.5% news-profit cap:
Maximum counted news profit:
$500
The remaining:
$2,000
is removed.
That completely changes how attractive a very large news trade might appear.
You need to judge the strategy based on the profit that actually counts.
This is where the trader should think beyond the headline
There is another issue.
Suppose CPI sends gold sharply higher.
Why?
You might immediately say:
"CPI was lower than expected."
But what actually happened across the market?
Did Treasury yields fall?
Did real yields fall?
Did the dollar weaken?
Did interest-rate expectations change?
Did gold continue rising?
Did silver confirm the move?
Did the market reverse?
The CPI release is the event.
It is not necessarily the complete explanation.
One large candle can contain several separate reactions
This matters particularly around FOMC.
Imagine gold rises immediately after the rate decision.
Then it falls during the press conference.
Then it rallies again later.
Calling the whole move:
"FOMC bullish for gold"
would be too simplistic.
There may have been multiple pieces of new information.
That is why investigating the context around each major price move can be more useful than simply reading the event headline.
That is the idea behind How to Understand Why a Market Moved
Echelon fits naturally here
AquaFunded answers:
How much of my news-trading profit actually counts?
Echelon helps with:
What actually happened to the market?
The trader can click the large candle and investigate the surrounding context.
Relevant headlines.
Related markets.
Fundamental developments.
The market conditions around the event.
That means the product fits naturally after the rule explanation.
The article has already answered the reader's original question.
Now it gives them a tool for investigating what happened after the release.
The 0.5% cap changes the role of news trading
This is worth spelling out.
Suppose a trader's normal strategy produces 0.3% to 0.5% per trade.
A 0.5% news cap might not matter much.
But suppose the trader's entire strategy is designed to catch rare 2% or 3% moves immediately after CPI.
The cap becomes much more important.
The strategy may still work directionally.
The trader may still be right.
But the firm's rules change the amount of profit that can actually count.
So when evaluating AquaFunded, the right question is not:
"Can I trade news?"
It is:
"Does AquaFunded's news-profit structure work with the size and style of my strategy?"
Accounts opened before April 27, 2026
AquaFunded explicitly states that accounts purchased before April 27, 2026 remain subject to the previous news-trading rules.
That matters because old articles or trader discussions may describe the previous policy.
This is a perfect example of why the date checked on a prop-firm SEO article matters.
A forum answer from last year can easily be outdated.
The current policy is the one that matters for a new account.
A practical AquaFunded news workflow
Calculate your cap first
Take your starting balance.
Multiply by 0.005.
That is the current news-profit cap per payout cycle.
Check the event
Use the relevant high-impact classification and pay particular attention to FOMC announcements, statements and speeches.
Know the five-minute window
Trades opened or closed within five minutes before or after the applicable news event are subject to the cap.
Do not mistake the cap for a breach
Exceeding the cap does not itself create a violation under the current policy.
Then investigate the actual reaction
The size of your profit is one thing.
Understanding why the market moved is another.
FAQ
Can you news trade with AquaFunded?
Yes. AquaFunded currently allows trading during high-impact news events.
What is the AquaFunded news-profit cap?
The current cap is 0.5% of the account starting balance per payout cycle for qualifying news-event profits.
What happens if I make more than 0.5% during news?
AquaFunded says the profit above the 0.5% cap is removed, while there is no penalty, violation or breach applied solely because the cap was exceeded.
How long is the AquaFunded news window?
The news-profit cap applies to trades opened or closed within 5 minutes before or after a red-folder high-impact event.
Does the AquaFunded rule include FOMC speeches?
Yes. The current policy explicitly includes FOMC speeches, statements and related events.
Does the 0.5% cap apply to old AquaFunded accounts?
Accounts purchased before April 27, 2026 remain under the previous news policy, according to AquaFunded.
Final thoughts
AquaFunded is a good example of why the phrase:
"News trading allowed"
does not tell you enough.
Yes, you can trade CPI.
Yes, you can trade NFP.
Yes, you can trade FOMC.
But on newer accounts, the profit generated during the defined news window is capped at:
0.5% of starting balance per payout cycle.
That is a very different proposition from unrestricted news trading.
And once you understand how much of the trade can actually count, the next question becomes:
What happened in the market to create that move in the first place?
That is where the research gets interesting.