Crypto trading is changing fast, and choosing the right crypto prop firm can be a major factor in long-term success. Traders today are not just looking for funding — they want partners that offer practical risk-management support and modern trading tools. If you’re ready to take your skills to the next level and compete for meaningful profits, you should consider more progressive funding models. But is it really that straightforward? Let’s break it down.
Risk Warning
Risk disclaimer: Prop trading involves substantial financial risk. Trading with a firm’s capital can result in both profits and losses, and failing to meet targets or violating rules may lead to account suspension or closure. Industry estimates suggest that more than 85% of prop traders do not achieve sustainable long-term profitability. Understand the risks and seek professional advice when necessary.
How Does Prop Trading Work?
In prop trading, traders use different strategies and speculative methods to generate returns from price movements. The firm provides access to its capital, infrastructure, trading venues, and sometimes algorithms and analytics. Profits are then split between the trader and the firm based on the program rules. Terms can vary significantly by company: some offer higher profit splits, others enforce tighter risk limits, and some provide more flexible rules plus additional tools and support.
How to Become a Prop Trader
To get funded and become a prop trader, you typically go through several steps. First, you learn the basics of financial markets and build trading skills — via online courses, self-study, or offline training. Next, you choose a prop firm and pass its evaluation, usually structured as challenges (most commonly two-phase, though one-phase and three-phase formats also exist). During the evaluation, you must demonstrate not only profitability but also discipline, risk control, and a clear understanding of market mechanics.
A typical two-phase challenge often looks like this. In Phase 1, the profit target is around 8% of the simulated deposit. After passing Phase 1, you receive Phase 2, where the goal is usually about 5% profit. Once you pass both phases, you receive a funded account — an account backed by the firm’s capital. Profits on that account are split with the firm, most commonly around 80/20, where the trader keeps 80% and the firm takes 20%.
What Is a Crypto Prop Trading Firm?
Crypto prop firms give traders access to company capital to trade digital assets. Unlike traditional brokers that primarily earn from commissions, prop firms are typically aligned with performance: their revenue comes from taking a share of profits generated by successful traders. In most programs, the trader keeps the larger portion of profits. This structure allows traders to operate with larger capital without depositing significant personal funds, which can reduce personal financial exposure and make the format attractive for traders who can perform consistently.
Different firms offer different conditions: account sizes, profit-split percentages, drawdown rules, trading restrictions, the set of available instruments, and overall platform quality. Below are the most common elements found in crypto prop programs.
Core Features of Crypto Prop Firms
Trading Capital (Funding)
Instead of trading with your own money, the firm provides a simulated or conditional account — for example, $25,000 or $100,000 — after you pass the evaluation (the “challenge”). Account size depends on the program tier, evaluation structure, and scaling rules.
Challenge / Evaluation
To access the firm’s capital, you must prove your strategy works while respecting risk limits. Requirements may inсlude:
- reaching a specific profit target;
- staying within drawdown limits;
- meeting minimum trading days and/or trade counts.
Profit Split
When you trade successfully on the firm’s capital, the firm takes a portion of profits (often 5% to 50%), and you keep the rest. For example, under an 80/20 model, the trader receives 80% of profits and the firm receives 20%.
Risk Limits and Controls
Prop firms typically enforce strict risk management to protect capital. Common restrictions inсlude:
- maximum daily drawdown and maximum overall drawdown;
- limits on weekend trading;
- requirements to close positions ahead of high-volatility events or major news releases.
How to Choose a Crypto Prop Firm
The prop firm you pick can materially affect your results: the same strategy can perform very differently depending on rules, drawdown definitions, trading windows, and execution quality. That’s why it’s worth evaluating the factors that shape your real trading environment.
Key Criteria to Consider
- Reputation and track record. Read reviews, check how long the firm has operated, and assess how transparent it is about rules and disputes.
- Profit split. Compare how much profit you keep and how payouts work.
- Risk management framework. Review drawdown limits, position-holding rules, and restrictions around news/events.
- Support and resources. Evaluate whether the firm provides education, webinars, analytics tools, community support, and responsive customer service.
- Profit-share model. Different firms offer different splits — from 50/50 up to 90/10.
- Performance requirements. Check profit targets and conditions — aggressive targets can force higher risk.
- Evaluation process. Understand challenge types, account rules, and whether the structure fits your trading style.
- Funding size and scaling. Look at maximum account sizes and scaling options, which can expand your trading capacity over time.
How to Start in Crypto Prop Trading
To join a crypto prop firm and attempt the evaluation, you can follow five straightforward steps:
- Pick a firm. Compare reputation, rules, drawdown logic, and learning resources.
- Study the requirements. Understand how the challenge works, what limits apply, and what counts as a rule breach.
- Improve your skills. Refine strategies, analyze the market, and build discipline and consistency.
- Apply. Submit your application and, if required, provide a trading history or documents.
- Prepare for the test. Learn how the firm defines risk and ensure the conditions match your style.
Important: Before starting a challenge, carefully read the risk-management policy and all program rules to avoid accidental violations.
List of Prop Firms for 2026 (Informational Examples)
There are many online prop firms. For informational purposes only, here are a few commonly mentioned names — this is not a recommendation and does not imply any firm is “best.”
- FTMO — one of the most well-known online prop firms, with clear rules and a fully online evaluation process.
- Nextproptrader — offers evaluation programs with accounts up to $250k and profit splits up to 95%, including instruments such as CME futures. Note the trailing drawdown rule, which can make it more suitable for more mature traders (drawdown is calculated even after profits are made).
- OneUp Trader — a platform focused on futures; notable for having no daily drawdown limit and profit splits up to 90% in favor of the trader.
- E8 Funding — known for fast evaluation starts and flexible rules, supporting multiple financial markets.
- Funded Next — often considered beginner-friendly due to a free trial option and the ability to use trade-copying tools.
- The5ers — offers a wide range of plans; highlights inсlude no strict time limits to hit targets and a free demo account.
- FTUK — sometimes preferred by higher-risk traders; conditions may inсlude leverage up to 1:100 and a fixed drawdown level.
- Crypto Fund Trader and Funding Pips — popular platforms offering access to FX and CFD trading; accounts can reach up to $300k, but careful parameter comparison is essential before choosing.
How We Build Prop Firm Rankings
To evaluate firms that fund traders, many teams apply a strict methodology using 100+ quantitative and qualitative criteria. Individual scores are assigned across categories and then combined into a final rating.
Key evaluation areas typically inсlude:
- Trader reviews and feedback. Collecting and analyzing experiences from current and former traders.
- Tradable instruments. Assessing asset coverage and market depth.
- Challenges and evaluation mechanics. Account types, scoring rules, targets, and how funding is granted.
- Profit split and scaling. Profit-share structure, payout terms, and scaling plans.
- Trading conditions. Leverage, execution speed, commissions, and other trading-related costs.
- Platform and technology. Proprietary platforms or supported third-party terminals, usability, functionality, and stability.
- Education and support. Quality and availability of learning materials, webinars, and consultations.
Conclusion
Prop trading is valuable because it can accelerate your professional growth through real-market discipline and structured risk rules — often with guidance from experienced mentors or within a clear program framework. For beginners, it can be an excellent way to learn faster. For experienced traders, it may feel less exciting, but it would be a mistake to dismiss it entirely. In a funding model, both the trader and the firm are motivated by the same outcome — profitable trading — which often means fewer conflicts of interest than in certain high-risk retail products such as forex/CFD “kitchen” models or binary options.
Here are a few points that can help you look at prop trading from a new angle:
- with a relatively small fee, you can access “large capital” — a meaningful advantage;
- treat prop accounts like a career ladder: discipline and performance can open bigger opportunities, but it requires effort and consistency;
- many traders find it psychologically easier to handle larger nominal losses when trading firm capital, because personal risk is often limited to the challenge fee (for example, a $2,000–$3,000 drawdown on the account may translate into a much smaller real loss for you, such as a fraction of a $200 challenge cost);
- a prop account can help a trader evolve faster — the combination of strict rules and real performance goals often accelerates improvements in both mindset and trading systеm compared to trading only personal funds.