FTMO alternatives: what to replace it with in Russia and Kazakhstan

Does FTMO work in Russia and other CIS countries

No. For many, prop trading begins with FTMO, or FTMO as it is written in Russian-language chats. It has two lines, FTMO CFDs and FTMO Futures, and both are closed to the CIS. We opened both eligibility pages on 21.10.2026.

Both lists of residency restrictions include Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. FTMO gives one reason: a business decision on risk management. It does not serve people under 18 in any country. Access is also closed to those on international sanctions lists, as well as to citizens and residents of Iran, Syria, Myanmar and North Korea.

For citizens of Iran, Syria and Myanmar there is an exception. They will be accepted if they live in a country of the European Economic Area (the EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway), confirm this with documents, and FTMO can verify an account in their name at a regular bank in that area. A neobank or fintech service will not work for this.

On Ukraine, the lines diverge. In CFDs the ban is limited to Crimea, Sevastopol, Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, while in the futures line Ukraine is listed in full.

In total, the FTMO card in the PMC catalog lists 73 banned countries (snapshot 21.10.2026). Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Moldova are not on this list, nor are EU countries: FTMO admits residents of these countries to both lines.

It is easier for relocants. As a general rule, FTMO looks at residence, not passport: a citizen of Kazakhstan who lives in Georgia and can confirm this passes under the text of the rules. A resident of Almaty with a Kazakh address does not pass.

Traders run into this constantly. Here is a comment from a trader from Kazakhstan under a video from the channel "Осознанные Инвестиции": "Besides ftmo I am from Kazakhstan and it doesn't work for us please help". And here is a trader from Russia under a video from the channel TRADING VOLIUM: "I really liked ftmo, but how can they use it from Russia". FTMO's rules answer both the same way: their countries are on the banned list.

There is no separate "FTMO Russia" with special rules. The prop company has one website, ftmo.com, and the banned list on it is the same for everyone.

FTMO analogues: which prop companies admit from the CIS

There are FTMO analogues in Russia and the rest of the CIS, only each prop company has its own list of countries. There are 7 of them in the PropMarketCap catalog, and we read the rules of each on 21.10.2026. In each group, the prop companies with the highest overall rating on PropMarketCap come first.

If you want to check for yourself, here is where it is written:

• Hash Hedge: Russia, Belarus and other CIS countries are not in the terms. Clause 4.1 requires being 18 and residing where the services are permitted. Clause 4.3 blocks residents of countries under embargo and full sanctions: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria and Yemen are named as examples.
• Era Trade: the help section says the prop firm is ready to work with all traders over 18. There is no country list there, and none in the catalog card either. The legal terms on eratrade.net did not open for us (access error), so the country is confirmed only by the help section and the checkout with SBP.
• HyroTrader: clause 12.1 strictly blocks residents, citizens and anyone simply located in Russia and Belarus, as well as in five regions of Ukraine. Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are not on this list. But clause 12.2 permits enhanced verification for countries on FATF lists and under sectoral sanctions of the UAE, UN, EU, UK and US.
• SpiceProp: under clause 2.2, residents and citizens of countries under restrictions and sanctions cannot participate. The list itself is in the footer of the Russian version of the site: 14 countries from which SpiceProp does not register clients (US, DPRK, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Japan, Canada and others). Russia, Belarus and other CIS countries are not on it.
• The Funded Way: the "Restricted Countries" help section explicitly states that the prop firm does not work with sanctioned countries except Russia and Ukraine, and with the US. Russia is open, Belarus is closed. But The Funded Way sends payouts only via Rise, and Rise has Russia and Ukraine on its closed-country list: you can buy the challenge, but you cannot receive the payout. From Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Armenia, Georgia and EU countries, payout via Rise is available.
• Vanta Trading: a prohibited jurisdiction is defined as a country under full sanctions of the US, UK, EU or UN, or where the service is prohibited by law. Russia and Belarus are not under full sanctions, so they are open. The catalog card lists Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Syria as bans. The prop firm is young: according to the Vanta Trading card in the PMC catalog, it was founded in 2026, and as of 21.10.2026 there is not a single review of it. There is nothing yet by which to judge its payouts.

Comparison of FTMO and alternatives: $10,000 account challenge

We take one account size and one format: a two-phase $10,000 challenge. Figures from the PMC catalog, snapshot 21.10.2026. FTMO and SpiceProp price in euros, the rest in dollars.

What these percentages mean in practice: on a $10,000 account, a 5% daily limit is $500 of loss per day, and a 10% overall limit is $1,000 from the starting balance. Breach the limit and the challenge is over, while the $99 per attempt stays with the prop firm.

Era Trade is closest to the familiar setup: the same drawdown limits, the same MetaTrader 5, and payment in rubles via SBP. According to the PMC cash desk reconciliation with a test account dated 14.10.2026, card and SBP carry a 7% surcharge, while crypto has no surcharge. And Era Trade refunds the registration fee along with the third successful payout, provided the trader passed the challenge and did not break the rules.

Residents of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan also have access to HyroTrader.

Hash Hedge is structured differently, so we don't include it in the table. A two-phase challenge for $10,000 costs $99, but the first phase target is 5%, the second is 6%, and each requires a minimum of 5 trading days. Trading takes place in its own web terminal, with no time limit to complete it. Payouts every 14 days in USDT, the trader's share is 80% or 90% with a paid option.

The cheapest two-phase attempt in the catalog is the Starter way from The Funded Way at $92, but its targets and limits are its own: 6% and 6% with limits of 3% and 6%. The format with the same 5% and 10% limits is called Straight way there and costs $115. From Russia, you can't receive a payout from The Funded Way via Rise, so this price gives Russians nothing.

How to pay for a challenge from Russia and Belarus

You can't pay with a Russian card abroad: on 05.03.2022 Visa and Mastercard stopped operating in Russia. So there are two options.

The first is stablecoins. USDT or USDC are accepted by all the alternatives in the catalog, and with Hash Hedge it's the only payment method at all. Hash Hedge does not require KYC (identity verification by documents) when buying a challenge. The second is a card or SBP, which Era Trade supports. Its checkout accepts crypto without a markup, and card and SBP with a 7% markup (PMC verification 14.10.2026).

Payouts follow a similar pattern. Hash Hedge pays in USDT every 14 days, HyroTrader in USDT or USDC. Era Trade asks for a crypto wallet address in the application and pays once every 15 or 30 days at your choice: at least 3 profitable days in the period are required, split 80/20. None of them promises a bank transfer to Russia. The Funded Way pays only via Rise, and Rise does not serve Russia.

Why circumventing a country ban ends in losing your deposit

The temptation is understandable: turn on a VPN and register as a resident of another country. But count the money. You pay the deposit right away, and when it comes to document verification, the account will be closed along with the profit.

Checking access yourself is not difficult: open the terms on the prop company's website, find the section on prohibited jurisdictions, and read the site footer and help section. Also check the payment service: for The Funded Way it is Rise, with its own list of countries. In a dispute, the text of the rules decides, not words in chat.

How to choose a replacement to suit you

Pay by card or via SBP and are used to MetaTrader 5 - start with Era Trade. Ready to pay in USDT or USDC - Hash Hedge is added to it, and in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan also HyroTrader, whose two-phase $5,000 account costs $59. If in doubt, answer two questions.

Replacing FTMO does not make the evaluation easier. You pay once for an attempt, trade on a simulated account under the prop firm's rules, and the firm pays the payout from its own funds under the contract. There is no central bank supervision or client protection here, most participants do not pass the challenge, and the fee is not refunded if you fail. If that does not stop you, find a program that fits your budget in the challenge calculator or compare terms in the challenge catalog.

If you are just starting out, first understand the rules: the PMC Academy has a free lesson on choosing a prop firm. Still have questions about a specific prop firm's rules - message PMC support on Telegram.

Summary

FTMO is closed by residency for Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. This is the prop firm's own decision; a payment failure has nothing to do with it. For Russia and Belarus, the replacements in the PMC catalog are Hash Hedge, Era Trade, SpiceProp and Vanta Trading; for Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, HyroTrader and The Funded Way are added to them. The Funded Way sells challenges to Russians too, but pays out via Rise, which does not serve Russia. FTMO is open to residents of Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Moldova and EU countries. Once you have decided on a country and budget, find a program in the PMC challenge calculator.