Wikipedia, and almost any remotely reputable source, defines day trading as when a trader "buys and sells a financial instrument within the same trading day, such that all positions are closed before the market closes..."
If you can't sell the stock that you bought on the same day that you bought it, then by definition you can not day trade.
> If you can't sell the stock that you bought on the same day that you bought it, then by definition you can not day trade.
Deposit $1000, wait 3 days, buy and sell $100 of the same stock in the same day. You still have $900 to trade with.
It may be “less efficient”, but it also reduces your risk, and risk management is fundamentally what successful trading is about.
Some people don’t want to depend on the bank for margin or leverage, and are happy to trade with cash only. Increased efficiency brings increased risk and decreased ability to deal with short term shocks.
If you can't sell the stock that you bought on the same day that you bought it, then by definition you can not day trade.