Balance is the account value from closed trades only. Equity is balance plus the profit or loss of open positions. If your balance is $100,000 and you have an open trade at -$1,500, your equity is $98,500.
Why limits use equity
Prop firm limits are checked on equity because open losses are real risk. On Axora, the daily limit uses a reference taken at 00:00 UTC (the higher of balance or equity at that moment), and your equity may not fall more than the daily percentage below it at any time during the day.
What this means in practice
- A trade does not need to be closed to breach a limit; touching it with floating loss is enough.
- Several open trades add up: the combined floating loss is what counts.
- Holding a loser 'until it comes back' can breach the limit before it does.
Floating profit counts too
If you carry an open winner past 00:00 UTC, the daily reference can be set on the higher equity. A sharp reversal the next day then eats into that day's limit from a higher starting point.