The FINRA day trading margin requirement is equal to 25% of the highest open position during the day. In this example, the largest position of $200,000 exceeded the day trade buying power by $40,000. The day trade buying power call would be calculated as follows: $40,000 x .25 = $10,000 day trade buying power call. There are a number of different day trading rules you need to be aware of, regardless of whether you’re trading stocks, forex, futures, options, or cryptocurrency. Failure to adhere to certain rules could cost you considerably. So, pay attention if you want to stay firmly in the black. The money must be in your account before you do any day trades and you must maintain a minimum balance of $25,000 in your brokerage account at all times while day trading. On the plus side, pattern day traders that meet the equity requirement receive some benefits, such as the ability to trade with additional leverage—using borrowed money to make larger bets.