# Catalyst

> Catalyst offers a prediction market trading challenge. You trade live Polymarket events in a simulated account, pass and earn a fixed cash payout of up to $1,500. Entry starts at $10. The money you trade is virtual, so you never risk real money in the markets. Catalyst is not a prop firm and is not investment advice.

Trade Catalyst Inc. · https://tradecatalyst.com · Updated September 2026

Catalyst is the first simulation and evaluation platform built for prediction market traders. It brings the prop firm evaluation model, prove your skill and earn a cash payout, to a new asset class: prediction markets. You trade the outcomes on sports, crypto, politics, and more. Same prices, same volatility, same skill as the real thing. Pick your account, pass the challenge, and get paid.

You've been right for free. It's time to cash in.

Catalyst offers three account sizes: the $1,000 Starter, the $7,500 Pro, and the $15,000 Elite.

## How the challenge works

Pick your account and pass the challenge. Everything is disclosed upfront: the rule, the target, and the payout. No variability. No subjectivity.

One rule: don't hit your trailing max loss (realized balance only). One target: hit the qualifying trade count. No daily loss limits, no consistency rules.

- A qualifying trade is one closed trade with realized profit at or above your account's qualifying trade amount.
- Pass the challenge: hit the qualifying trade count and finish above the starting balance.
- Qualifying trades to pass: 10 (cut from 15 for a limited time; the lower target is what is in force today)

The same game runs at every size: the qualifying trade amount is one third of max position, and the trailing max loss is two thirds. The bigger the account, the bigger the payout.

- $1,000 Starter: $10 entry, $100 payout. Max position $150 per market, trailing max loss $100, qualifying trade $50 (a closed trade with $50 or more in realized profit).
- $7,500 Pro: $59 entry, $750 payout. Max position $750 per market, trailing max loss $500, qualifying trade $250.
- $15,000 Elite: $109 entry, $1,500 payout. Max position $1,500 per market, trailing max loss $1,000, qualifying trade $500.

New users get 20% off their first challenge.

For a limited time the qualifying trade target is 10 instead of 15, at every account size.

One-time entry fee. No subscriptions. Pass the challenge and the payout is yours.

## Why Catalyst is different

100% objective. Pass or fail is based on your results, automatically. Hit the qualifying trade target and stay above your trailing max loss, and you advance. No subjectivity, no discretionary reviews.

No surprises. You know exactly what you have to do and exactly what you'll earn when you do it. Targets and payouts are set at signup and never change. Your payout is fixed. It is not a share of profits and not tied to your P&L.

Get paid fast. No minimum trading days or waiting period. The moment you pass the challenge, the payout hits your Catalyst wallet, ready to withdraw. No approval required, and payouts can deposit in under a minute.

## How Catalyst compares to prop firms

Catalyst uses the evaluation structure traders know from prop firms: pay a fee, prove skill against rules set upfront. It removes the funded-account conflict. There is no funded account, and you never trade Catalyst's capital.

Traditional prop firms evaluate futures, crypto, or forex traders, take a percentage of profits, and keep discretion to change the rules as you perform. Catalyst evaluates prediction market traders, pays a fixed cash payout set before you trade, keeps the rules the same for every trader, and never takes a cut. You keep 100%. No profit split.

Use your payout to fund your own account and trade on your own terms.

## The platform

The Catalyst trading platform at app.tradecatalyst.com provides a live order book synced to real Polymarket events; Trade, Portfolio, and Performance dashboards; realized account balance tracked on closed trades only; qualifying trade progress; trailing max loss monitoring; category performance across crypto, politics, sports, and more; an equity curve and daily P&L calendar; and a watchlist and trade history.

Markets: Polymarket's most active events, available to trade on Catalyst. Sports, crypto, politics, geopolitics, economics, earnings, culture, climate, elections, and more.

Each event is binary: every trade is a simple yes or no, easier to learn than futures or options. Trade any time, 24/7/365, with no windows and no lockouts.

## 2026 NFL Pick’em

Catalyst also runs a free season-long NFL competition, the 2026 NFL Pick’em, with $15,000 in prizes. It is separate from the paid challenge: there is no entry fee, no account to buy, and no requirement to have ever taken a challenge.

Contestants make picks on the NFL games each week. Scoring is weighted by the market's odds: a correct pick scores the implied chance that the pick would have lost, so a team the market gives 40% scores 60 points if they win, and a team at 60% scores 40. A wrong pick scores zero and points are never deducted. Picks lock at each game's kickoff. There is $15,000 in prizes: $10,000 in cash awarded at the end of the season, the largest single award of which is the grand prize for the most points across the regular season, and $5,000 in prizes awarded during the season.

## Who Catalyst is for

Catalyst is for active prediction market traders on Polymarket; prop firm traders who want an evaluation with rules that are set at signup and never change; retail traders and sports bettors learning prediction markets in a structured, low-stakes way; and anyone building prediction market trading skill without market exposure.

## Frequently asked questions

Is Catalyst a prop firm? No. You know exactly what to do and exactly what you'll earn for doing it. Completely transparent. 100% objective. No profit split.

Am I trading real money? No. The account is simulated. The prices are real, live from Polymarket, but the money you trade is virtual, so you're never risking real money in the markets.

When do I get paid? The moment you pass the challenge, the payout hits your Catalyst wallet and you can withdraw right away. No minimum trading days, no approval required, and payouts can deposit in under a minute.

What can I trade? Live Polymarket events, available to trade on Catalyst: politics, sports, crypto, economics, and more.

What is a prediction market? A market where you trade on the outcome of a real-world event. Each is a yes-or-no question priced like odds: a share at $0.32 means a 32% chance. When the market resolves, the winning side is worth $1 a share and the losing side $0.

## Founder

Melissa Footlick, Founder and CEO. In 2010 she joined Topstep as its second employee and spent eleven years as COO building the first retail prop firm. Sixteen years in the industry. She built Catalyst because traders deserve better: simpler, more transparent, more equitable.

## What Catalyst is not

Catalyst is not a prop firm, not a funded account program, and not investment advice. It is not a brokerage and is not a counterparty to any trade. Outcomes are skill-based, not a game of chance. There is no profit split and no cut of your payout.

## Legal

Trade Catalyst Inc. is a Delaware C-corporation doing business as Catalyst, located at 8 The Green #24796, Dover, DE 19901. All trading activity is simulated and results are hypothetical. Nothing on the platform is investment, trading, or financial advice. Trade Catalyst Inc. is not a broker-dealer, futures commission merchant, commodity trading advisor, commodity pool operator, investment adviser, designated contract market, or exchange, and is not a prop firm. Market data is sourced from Polymarket. Catalyst does not take positions in any market and is not a counterparty to any trade.

## Key pages

- [Homepage](https://tradecatalyst.com): what Catalyst is and the three account options.
- [How it works](https://tradecatalyst.com/#challenge): the challenge, rules, qualifying trades, and payouts.
- [About](https://tradecatalyst.com/about): why Catalyst exists and how it's different.
- [2026 NFL Pick’em](https://tradecatalyst.com/nfl-pickem): the free season-long NFL pick'em competition and how its odds-weighted scoring works.
- [Help Center](https://help.tradecatalyst.com/en/): answers on the challenge, markets, payouts, and account help.
- [Trading platform](https://app.tradecatalyst.com): the live app where the challenge is traded.
- [Terms of Service](https://tradecatalyst.com/terms): the rules that govern use of Catalyst.
- [Privacy Policy](https://tradecatalyst.com/privacy): how Catalyst handles your data.
- [Start a challenge](https://app.tradecatalyst.com): sign up, pick an account, and begin.

## Elsewhere

- X: https://x.com/predictcatalyst
- Discord: https://discord.com/invite/tradecatalyst
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@predictcatalyst
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@predictcatalyst
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/predictcatalyst/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/catalysttrading/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tradecatalyst/