Topstep expands eligibility to Jamaicans

A Chicago futures trading firm just added Jamaica to its eligibility list, which means people in Jamaica can now buy a Topstep evaluation account and try to qualify for payouts through the company’s funded-trader program. Topstep’s own eligibility page says country access depends on citizenship, residency, sanctions rules, and broker limits, and Jamaica is no longer on its ineligible list. (help.topstep.com) Topstep does not work like a normal brokerage account where you deposit your own investing capital and buy stocks. Topstep sells a futures trading challenge called the Trading Combine, and traders who hit the targets move into what Topstep calls an Express Funded Account. (topstep.com, help.topstep.com) The cheapest current Trading Combine on Topstep’s site is a 50,000 dollar buying-power account for 49 dollars a month, with a 3,000 dollar profit target, a 2,000 dollar maximum loss limit, and a five-contract cap. Larger versions are listed at 100,000 dollars for 99 dollars a month and 150,000 dollars for 149 dollars a month. (topstep.com) Passing the Combine does not mean a trader gets a cash account loaded with money on day one. Topstep says the first funded stage is still a simulated account, and payouts come only after the trader meets specific rules inside that funded stage. (help.topstep.com) Those payout rules are concrete. On the Standard path, Topstep says a trader needs five winning days of at least 150 dollars each before requesting up to 50 percent of the account balance, capped at 5,000 dollars per request, with a 90 percent trader split. (help.topstep.com) Topstep added a second funded path on February 5, 2026, called the Consistency path. That version requires three traded days with a 40 percent consistency target and raises the per-request payout cap to 6,000 dollars while keeping the same 90 percent split. (help.topstep.com) The Jamaica change matters because Topstep’s country rules are not just a sign-up form detail. The company says some places can trade only in the simulated funded stage and cannot receive a Live Funded Account because of broker restrictions, while sanctioned countries cannot participate at all. (help.topstep.com) For Jamaican users, the practical result is access to the same front end as other eligible traders: buy a Combine, trade futures under Topstep’s limits, and, if the rules are met, request payouts through the funded program. The company says it funds traders worldwide, includes Level 1 market data in membership, and lets traders hold multiple Combine accounts under one profile. (help.topstep.com, help.topstep.com) There is still a hard line between “eligible” and “easy money.” Topstep’s terms say all site use is subject to trading rules that can change, and its Combine rules say the account fails if the balance hits or drops below the maximum loss limit. (topstep.com, help.topstep.com) So the announcement is less like Jamaica getting a new investing app and more like Jamaica getting access to a paid audition. The door is now open, but the business model still runs on subscription fees, rule-based evaluations, and simulated funded accounts that only turn into payouts if the trader clears every step. (topstep.com, help.topstep.com, topstep.com)