Two very different products sold under the same words. Hypernova is an on-chain prop firm on Hyperliquid: you trade perps on a public order book and the money that pays you can be traced on a chain. Vest Markets' Vest Capital program is a centralized prop firm whose Prop Trading Terms (last updated 6 October 2026) state that "All Accounts, including Instant Funded Accounts, are simulated" — with a range of markets Hypernova does not offer: US stocks, ETFs, indices, commodities, FX and crypto in the same account.
We pay for what we review. We bought a Vest Capital Silver $5,000 1-Step on 8 October 2026 for $38 and traded it on 9 October; the evaluation is in progress and we have taken no Vest payout. Hypernova pays from a smart contract, and we reconciled its 80% split against the contract to the cent on our own payouts.
On our grid of 9 October 2026, Hypernova scores 85.7/100 and Vest Markets 74.1/100 — a 11.6-point gap that sits almost entirely in one place: what can be verified from outside.
Side by side
| Vest Markets | Hypernova | |
|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 74.1/100 | 85.7/100 |
| Settlement | Centralized — simulated accounts (Prop Terms, 6 Oct 2026) | On-chain — Hyperliquid |
| Markets | Perps on US stocks, ETFs, indices (ES, NQ, RTY), commodities, FX, crypto — 88 markets listed in the app on 9 October 2026 (54 stocks, 10 ETFs, 3 indices, 7 commodities, 9 FX pairs, 5 crypto) — the docs say "hundreds" | Perps on Hyperliquid |
| Our account | Bought 8 Oct 2026, traded 9 Oct · no payout taken | Traded · account provided, disclosed |
| Entry price | 1-Step $40 / $80 / $210 (default card) · 2-Step from $15 · Instant from $10 (9 Oct 2026) | From $25 · 5K now on the public configurator (21 Sep 2026) · 25K at $120 / $275 / $365 |
| Profit split | 80% or 90% chosen at purchase (90% = +20% on price) · 95% on Instant | Up to 80% — reconciled on-chain to the cent |
| Max allocation | $25,000 per account · 10 live accounts max (9 Oct 2026) | $200,000 |
| Payouts | Internal claim (24h stated) then USDC withdrawal on Base / Arbitrum · no payout address or reserve published · nothing received by us yet (9 Oct 2026) | Instant · smart contract |
| Time limit | None — no minimum days, no consistency rule (FAQ, 9 Oct 2026) | None — published rulebook |
| Bots / API | No API on funded accounts (docs, 9 Oct 2026) · news, scalping, weekend allowed | No bot restrictions (published) |
The five sub-scores
| Vest Markets | Hypernova | |
|---|---|---|
| Rules & transparency [25] | 80 | 82 |
| Payouts & verifiability [25] | 62 | 96 |
| Survival, funding & solvency [20] | 76 | 80 |
| Trading freedom [15] | 72 | 80 |
| Cost & value [15] | 84 | 88 |
Same public grid for every firm, weights in brackets, read on 9 October 2026. A score changes only through a dated revision on a verified fact — never because a firm asks.
Where Vest Markets wins
- Market range: stocks, indices, commodities, FX and crypto in one account. No other firm on our grid offers that.
- Entry price: $40 for a $5,000 1-Step (0.8% of the account), a 2-Step from $15, an Instant account from $10 — and −5% with the code ROYA, typed on the Vest Capital page (read 9 October 2026).
- Rules you can compute before paying: a 36-configuration price matrix, a daily-loss formula with its 20:00 ET reset, a static 6% max drawdown, no time limit, no minimum days, no consistency rule.
- Split chosen at purchase: 80% or 90% on evaluations (the 90% card costs about 20% more), 95% on Instant accounts.
Where Hypernova wins
- Verifiability: Hypernova pays from a smart contract, and we reconciled its 80% split against the contract to the cent on our own payouts.
- Vest publishes no payout address, no distribution contract and no reserve; its payout is an internal "Claim Profit" (24h per Vest) followed by a USDC withdrawal on Base or Arbitrum One — and its own Terms call every account simulated while its marketing sells "real capital".
- Hypernova publishes no bot restriction for its own accounts; Vest's funded accounts have no API, so in practice you trade there by hand.
- Fewer contradictions on paper: on 9 October 2026 Vest's docs said 3 days for refunds where its Terms and FAQ say 28; its hero said 90% where the default cards say 80%.
Which one for which trader
Pick Vest Markets if you trade stocks, indices or FX by hand, want the cheapest entry and accept a centralized, simulated program whose payouts you cannot audit from outside. US and UK residents: the exchange's Terms of Service exclude you from the account withdrawals are made from.
Pick Hypernova if verifiability is the point — on-chain settlement, payouts you can trace — or if you trade crypto perps.