How much cash do I need to daytrade futures?

CONFIGURE EXCESS FUNDS SWEEP

Your IBKR Universal Account may be eligible to trade securities, commodities/futures, and cryptocurrency products. Based on eligibility and trading permissions, a Universal Account comprises up to three underlying accounts or account segments: a securities account governed by rules of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a futures account governed by rules of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and a Cryptocurrency account. As part of our Universal Account service, you have authorized us to automatically transfer funds as necessary between your securities account and your futures account in order to satisfy margin requirements in either account. …

Forms the basis for determining whether a client has the necessary assets to either initiate or maintain security positions.  Equals cash + stock value + bond value + mutual fund value + European and Asian options value (excludes market value U.S. securities & futures options and cash maintained in futures segment). …

The Pattern Day Trading Rule applies to both U.S. and non-U.S. securities positions, including stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, options and warrants. The rule does not apply to future contracts, options on futures contracts or Forex.

In addition to product consideration, application of the rule also depends upon the IBKR entity through which an account is maintained…

For accounts contracted by the triparty agreement and carried by IBLLC in the US the account is authorized to trade both securities products and commodities/futures products and therefore consists of two underlying accounts or account segments: a securities account ("IBKR securities") governed by rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and a futures account ("IBKR futures") governed by rules of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)…