The $25,000 Gate Falls: PDT Rule Changes, Retail Day Trading, and the New Intraday Margin Control System

The Pattern Day Trader rule is being replaced across brokers, removing the old $25,000 account minimum and day-trade counting system. But the real story is not simply “more freedom.” The old hard gate is being replaced by a live broker-controlled intraday margin system that changes who can trade, how small accounts behave, how brokers manage risk, and how retail order flow may move through the market.