# Velotrade vs ROMER

> Velotrade suits algo traders who want a free REST and WebSocket API, VPS use and five asset classes on one account. It bans HFT and tick scalping, and its funded accounts are simulated. ROMER is built for HFT, with algos colocated at the exchange.

Last checked: 2026-09-30. Page: https://romertrading.io/compare/velotrade-vs-romer. Published by ROMER (https://romertrading.io), a funded-trader program for algorithmic and high-frequency traders. ROMER's terms are planned and may change.

## At a glance

| | Velotrade | ROMER |
|---|---|---|
| Markets | 234 instruments on DXtrade: 104 crypto, plus forex, stocks, indices and commodities | Futures and digital-asset derivatives |
| Price, about $50K account | $419 one-time for $50K CLASSIC 2-Step; PRO 1-Step $305 (list prices) | $249 a month for $50K (planned) |
| Activation fee | None. "The challenge fee is the only payment you make." | None (planned) |
| Funded account | "still a simulated account with demo features" | Our own capital on the real exchange, after two stages |
| Profit split | 80%, or 90% with an add-on costing 20% of the challenge fee | 80% of real profits |
| Bots and automation | Allowed on every account through DXtrade's REST and WebSocket API, no fee or approval | Allowed at every stage, and so is trading by hand |
| High-frequency trading | Prohibited, along with tick scalping, latency arbitrage and grid trading | Allowed. Spoofing and other manipulation are not |
| Where your algo runs | Your own machine or a VPS. API is REST and WebSocket, top-of-book data only | On our hardware, inside the exchange’s data centre |

## How Velotrade works

Velotrade is new. Velotrade Re Limited was incorporated in Hong Kong in November 2025, and its funded trading platform "officially launched in March 2026", separately from the trade finance business the same founders started in 2016 ([FAQ](https://velotrade.com/faq)). One account on the DXtrade platform covers crypto, forex, stocks, indices and commodities. The [instruments page](https://velotrade.com/instruments) lists 234 of them, 104 of which are crypto.

You choose one of three challenges. CLASSIC 2-Step asks for 10% and then 5%, within a 5% daily loss limit and a 10% static drawdown. CLASSIC 1-Step asks for 10% within 4% and 7%, and PRO 1-Step for 10% within 3% and 3%. Each phase needs at least 5 qualifying days, and a day qualifies only if it closes with realised profit of 0.8% of the starting balance or more. There is no time limit or consistency rule, and news trading and weekend holding are allowed. The fee is paid once and isn't refundable. A $50,000 CLASSIC 2-Step lists at $419 on the [challenges page](https://velotrade.com/challenges).

Payouts arrive in USDC or USDT. The first can be requested 14 calendar days after your first funded trade, once you have the qualifying days, and later ones weekly. Each payout withdraws the whole balance, and the first two are capped at 20 times the challenge fee you paid.

Velotrade is open about the account type. Its [how it works page](https://velotrade.com/how-it-works) says the funded account "is still a simulated account with demo features, but with pricing drawn from real Tier 1 exchanges", and "Your profits, however, are paid out in real money." Velotrade also publishes a guide, [Best Crypto Prop Firms for Algo Traders in 2026](https://velotrade.com/blog/best-crypto-prop-firms-algo-traders), which ranks firms by "API access, automation policy, stop-loss rules, and payout flexibility" and puts Velotrade first.

## Bots, APIs, HFT and servers

Velotrade writes automation into its rules in detail. Its [API page](https://velotrade.com/api-access) says "Every Velotrade account, from your first evaluation challenge to a fully funded account, includes full programmatic API access", with "no extra fee and no approval process". Your trading login doubles as your API credentials. The API is DXtrade's REST and WebSocket interface, and "FIX API is not available and cannot be enabled." The API carries top-of-book data only; Level 2 and Level 3 depth appear only in the DXtrade screen. MetaTrader EAs won't connect natively and need a bridge or a rewrite.

The [rules page](https://velotrade.com/rules) treats bots like manual trading. "All automated and algorithmic trading strategies operate under the same rules as manual trading," and "Your system must monitor live daily P&L and equity and halt before any limit is breached." Velotrade also allows third-party EAs.

Velotrade's limits concern speed. Its prohibited strategies section says "Systems that place or cancel orders at extreme speeds to gain an unfair technical advantage are also prohibited", giving as an example "High-frequency trading systems placing or cancelling large numbers of orders within milliseconds". A separate table bans grid trading, arbitrage and tick scalping, and describes HFT as trading that "Relies on executing thousands of orders per minute". Velotrade's [DXtrade API guide](https://velotrade.com/blog/dxtrade-api-algo-trading) cites default limits of "ten trading requests per second per session", while noting that these are DXtrade defaults and "not guaranteed Velotrade limits".

Velotrade's hosting rule is plain: "Velotrade permits the use of VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) and VPS (Virtual Private Servers) for trading." The only VPS use it bans is letting someone other than the account owner trade. That is a real advantage, since [some large firms ban a VPS](/help/prop-firms-that-allow-vps). A VPS can shorten the route from your bot to Velotrade's servers, but Velotrade offers no colocation, and the orders still land in a [simulated account](/help/sim-funded-vs-live-funded).

## How ROMER differs

ROMER is our funded-trader program for algorithmic and high-frequency traders. Its terms are planned and may change.

We allow bots, algos and HFT at every stage, where Velotrade prohibits HFT. Spoofing and other manipulative trading aren't allowed. We monitor every order, and exchange message limits apply. Instead of a VPS, your algo runs on our hardware inside the exchange's data centre, known as [colocation](/help/prop-firm-with-colocated-servers). Our latency design target is under 1 microsecond, against roughly 30 milliseconds for a home connection to a simulator, and both figures are illustrative.

The Stage 1 evaluation is simulated and lasts at least 3 trading days. For Stage 2, Verification, the algo has to pass again across at least 10 new trading days. Fills remain simulated until funding. Verification is there to show the Stage 1 result wasn't luck. The best algos then trade our own capital on the real exchange, and the trader, an independent contractor, keeps 80% of real profits. Funding isn't guaranteed.

ROMER is built for futures and digital-asset derivatives, a narrower range than Velotrade's five asset classes. Planned pricing is $149 a month for the $25K Starter, $249 for the $50K Pro and $399 for the $100K Elite, with no activation fee, and the fee covers running your algo on our hardware at the exchange.

## Who should pick which

Velotrade is a good fit for an algo trader whose bot trades at ordinary speeds and who wants to pay a single fee. The free API with no approval step and the written VPS permission remove two common obstacles, and one account covers crypto, forex, stocks, indices and commodities. Check that top-of-book data and a REST or WebSocket connection are enough for your strategy.

ROMER is for the strategy Velotrade rules out: one that places or cancels orders at high speed, or whose edge depends on sitting close to the exchange, in futures or digital-asset derivatives. It also suits a trader who wants the funded stage to reach a real exchange.

## Quick answers

**Does Velotrade allow trading bots?**
Yes. Every Velotrade account, evaluation and funded, includes REST and WebSocket API access through DXtrade, with no extra fee and no approval step. Bots follow the same rules as manual trading, and HFT, tick scalping and latency arbitrage are banned.

**Does Velotrade allow a VPS?**
Yes. Its rules say "Velotrade permits the use of VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) and VPS (Virtual Private Servers) for trading." Letting someone else trade your account through one is prohibited.

**Is Velotrade's funded account real capital?**
No. Velotrade says the funded account "is still a simulated account with demo features", with pricing drawn from real exchanges, and that profits are paid out in real money.

**Can I get order book depth through Velotrade's API?**
No. Velotrade says the API provides top-of-book data only. Level 2 and Level 3 depth are available only in the DXtrade platform interface, and FIX API is not available.

## Sources

1. [Velotrade FAQ](https://velotrade.com/faq)
2. [Velotrade: About](https://velotrade.com/about)
3. [Velotrade: site summary (llms.txt)](https://velotrade.com/llms.txt)
4. [Velotrade: Challenges and prices](https://velotrade.com/challenges)
5. [Velotrade: Trading rules (Expert advisors, Prohibited strategies, VPN and VPS use)](https://velotrade.com/rules)
6. [Velotrade: How it works](https://velotrade.com/how-it-works)
7. [Velotrade: All tradable instruments](https://velotrade.com/instruments)
8. [Velotrade: API access and trading bots](https://velotrade.com/api-access)
9. [Velotrade blog: DXtrade API setup guide](https://velotrade.com/blog/dxtrade-api-algo-trading)
10. [Velotrade blog: Best Crypto Prop Firms for Algo Traders in 2026](https://velotrade.com/blog/best-crypto-prop-firms-algo-traders)