TradeStation Securities is an SEC-licensed broker dealer and a CFTC-licensed futures commission merchant, and a member of FINRA, SIPC, CME, NFA and several equities and futures exchanges, which offers to self-directed investors and traders Equities accounts for stocks, exchange traded products and equity and index options, and Futures accounts Minimum Capital Required to Start Day Trading Futures If trading a different contract, see what the day trading margin is, then determine what your stop loss will need to be to effectively day trade the contract. Then work through the steps above to determine the capital required to start day trading that futures contract.