Project specifications
- Market
- XAUUSD / US30
- TF
- M5
- Platform
- MT5
- Client type
- Prop trader
- Delivery window
- 6 weeks
- Stack
- MQL5, two years of history, a drawdown simulator
- Strategy
- Risk layer independent of the signal
- Modules
- Daily loss cap + circuit breaker
- Testing
- Critical scenario testing
Who this was for
Arka Prop Desk
- Role
- Challenge-account trader
- City
- Dubai
- Project reference
- TBT-1401-03
The client's idea
Arka Prop Desk works XAUUSD / US30 on M5; the opening brief was: Build a layer that closes trades before the account rules break, independent of whichever strategy I run.
Initial challenge
Challenge accounts carry daily and overall drawdown limits, but none of them were enforced in code — one bad day could end the account.
Solution
An independent layer with a daily equity stop, an overall drawdown cap, a cap on open positions and an automatic kill switch above any expert.
Why this design
An independent layer means a later strategy change cannot bypass the guard. It matches how XAUUSD / US30 is actually traded and can be tested against the data already available.
Safeguards and risk control
The risk layer sits outside the strategy logic, so a later change to the signal cannot bypass it.
Our next-step proposal
The next step is a monthly compliance report that proves the account rules were respected.
Portfolio
Measured results
These are the figures the test produced — not a promise about future performance.
- 4.2 % Max drawdown in test
- 99.8 % Runtime stability in test
- 3 days Recovery after drawdown
- 12 scenarios Scenario test coverage
Portfolio
How the delivery ran
Every project moves through these five phases, with the window for each agreed in the specification.
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Discovery and problem framing
CompletedReading the client's risk rules and measuring how the account currently behaves on XAUUSD / US30.
Day 1–2
-
Written specification
CompletedTurning the rules into numeric caps: risk per trade, daily loss and exposure ceiling.
Day 3–8
-
Implementation
CompletedBuilding a risk layer independent of the signal, with each cap testable on its own.
Day 9–25
-
Testing and validation
CompletedTesting the critical scenarios: fast drawdown, simultaneous positions and a dropped connection. A server disconnect with an open position was tested as its own scenario.
Day 26–37
-
Handover and support
CompletedHandover of the risk layer with a rules document and the emergency-stop path.
Day 38–41