The crypto world is buzzing about Hong Kong's RedotPay eyeing a US IPO to raise over $1 billion. The first question I see in trading chats is, "How do we play this?" Wrong question. Completely. After failing over 20 prop firm challenges in my career, I can tell you the right question is, "How do I prevent this headline from making me do something stupid and failing my challenge?" I blew up my first six accounts chasing shiny objects just like this. The truth is, this kind of news is pure poison if you're trying to get funded.

Prop firms aren't testing if you can predict the next big thing. They're testing if you can follow rules under pressure. That's it. A big IPO story creates the worst kind of pressure: the fear of missing out. It pulls you away from your tested strategy and pushes you toward gambling. You start looking at assets you don't trade, taking setups that aren't in your plan, and ignoring your risk parameters. You see, the firm has a statistical edge. They know a certain percentage of traders will self-destruct. This kind of news just speeds up the process for the undisciplined.

I keep a detailed spreadsheet where I do a running FTMO vs FundedNext review, and I can tell you their rules are designed to catch impulsive behavior. They don't care if you're a genius who called the RedotPay IPO; they care if you breached the 5% daily drawdown limit while you were trying to prove it. For a deeper dive on how fundamentals actually impact markets, I'd check out what Emma Blackwood is writing on the equities side. Her analysis is for investors, not for prop firm gamblers.

I developed a simple, mechanical filter after those first six failures. It's not exciting, but it's what got me my first payout and eventually over $180K in total withdrawals. It’s less of a trading strategy and more of a behavioral one.

My watchlist is brutally simple: EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and E-mini S&P futures (ES). That's it. When the RedotPay news breaks, I ask one question: "Is 'RedotPay' on my list?" No. So I don't trade it. I don't trade crypto-related stocks. I don't trade Hong Kong tech. This isn't arrogance; it's discipline. I have an edge in my specific markets. Venturing outside of them because of a headline is giving up my only advantage.

Okay, so I'm not trading the news directly. But can it create volatility in my markets? Sure. A big risk-on IPO story might give ES a little bid. So what? My job isn't to guess the narrative. My job is to trade my levels. If ES comes down to a key support level I marked in my morning prep, I'll still consider a long. The news might make me more cautious—maybe I'll risk 0.4% instead of my usual 0.5%, or I'll aim for a 1.5R target instead of 2R. I am managing the *effect* of the news on my plan, not trading the news itself. This is one of the most vital prop firm challenge tips I can offer.

When this kind of hype cycle hits, traders consistently make the same account-ending mistakes. I know because I've made them all. Here are the big ones:

• Jumping Assets: You're a forex trader who suddenly decides you're a Hong Kong tech expert for a day. You have zero edge.
• Ignoring Drawdown: The volatility stops you out. You get angry and immediately jump back in, violating your max daily loss rule before you even realize it.
• Sizing Up: You get a trade right and feel like a genius. You double your size on the next one, convinced you've "cracked the code" of the news. This one almost always ends in a blown account.

Even traders who are brilliant at their craft, like Viktor Reyes with his commodity calls, don't suddenly start punting on stuff outside their circle of competence. He sticks to gold and oil because that's his edge. Find yours and protect it ruthlessly.

So next time a big story breaks, try this: don't open a chart. Open your prop firm's dashboard and stare at your daily drawdown limit. That's the only number that matters. The challenge is about survival, not brilliance. Once you're funded, you can start taking more calculated risks. But during the evaluation, your only job is to not get disqualified. So, I'm curious, what's the dumbest news-driven trade you've ever taken, and what rule did it force you to create for yourself?

Read More on TradersWeek:→ ZachXBT Crypto Insider Trading Exposé 2026→ Futures Prop Trading: The Only Guide You'll Ever Need→ Bhutan's Crypto Visa: A Gimmick or a Genius RWA Play?

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