Prague adds floating PnL, Melbourne takes the higher mark
FTMO anchors the 5% day to day-start balance plus floating PnL at 00:00 CE(S)T. DNA Funded, backed by DNA Markets in Melbourne, anchors to the higher of day-start balance or equity at 00:00 server time, GMT+2 or GMT+3. A $3,400 open gold winner held into the DNA snapshot can become the base of the next day. The same winner in Prague is marked inside the floating PnL formula, and it does not automatically lift a higher-of floor.
In summer the Melbourne GMT+3 clock and the Prague CEST clock are an hour apart. In winter the gap is still an hour, GMT+2 against CET. A flatten alarm set for one midnight will miss the other. That hour is enough for gold to travel through a $500 stop you thought you still owned.
Rapid can fail a green day that FTMO would pay
Double Helix is the DNA 2-step: 10% then 5%, three minimum days, 5% daily, static 10% maximum. FTMO's 2-step is the same profit path with four minimum days and no hard best-day formula. DNA Rapid adds a rule neither of those books carries. One day cannot contribute more than 40% of cycle profit. On a $10,000 Phase 1, 40% is $4,000. A $4,200 gold day fails Rapid and is an ordinary strong day on FTMO.
Single Helix tightens DNA to a 4% day and a 6% maximum. FTMO's 1-step is a 3% day and a 10% end-of-day trail. Copying Double Helix size onto Single Helix, or FTMO 2-step size onto the FTMO 1-step, spends a book you do not have. Sign up on Venasri and store Rapid, Double Helix, and the FTMO 2-step as three cards.
Tight gold spreads do not cap the lot
DNA Markets is built around tight raw spreads on XAUUSD and the majors, which makes an extra gold lot feel cheap. At $10 per pip on 1.00 lot, 1.50 lots with a 70-pip stop risk $1,050. Two winners of that size can become the 40% Rapid day. Two losers are $2,100 of a $5,000 day that FTMO and Double Helix share. The spread did not create the risk. The lot did.
Both firms allow personal EAs inside a 2,000-request day. DNA prohibits copy-trading a third-party pass bot. FTMO allows EAs on MT4, MT5, cTrader, and DXtrade. DNA's platforms are MT5 and TradeLocker. Weekend holding is permitted on both Helix products. FTMO Standard must be flat, and FTMO Swing may hold at 1:30 leverage. Funded DNA news tightens to five minutes. FTMO Standard funded news is two minutes. Bot controls should use the window of the login that is actually in the trade.
Same $4,250 flatten, plus a Rapid profit ceiling
Equity Guard can flatten both 2-step books near $4,250 on $100,000. That stops the red day. It does not score Rapid's 40% profit share. If you bought Rapid, stop the session as the day approaches $3,000 of a $10,000 cycle so slippage cannot push you through $4,000. Single Helix should flatten near $3,250, because its official day is $4,000.
DNA pays 80%, or 90% with the add-on, on a 14-day cycle that can drop to 7 days. FTMO pays 80% to 90% starting 14 days after the first funded trade. Neither add-on buys a wider day. Partial DNA winners before 00:00 if you do not want the higher equity mark to own the next session.
