Once the domain of small, aggressive startups, Prop Trading is going mainstream, with larger established brokers and financial firms starting to launch their own prop brands.

Now, it is crypto giant Kraken’s turn, with Kraken Prop.

Crypto exchange operator Kraken, part of Payward Inc, has announced that it is launching Kraken Prop: a crypto prop trading program that gives skilled traders access to serious capital, with up to 90% of the profits going straight to them.

The move follows Kraken’s acquisition of Breakout, a retail crypto prop trading firm, late last year.

What is prop trading?

Prop trading (short for proprietary trading) flips the traditional model on its head. Instead of risking your own funds, you trade with a firm’s capital. You operate within defined risk limits. You keep your profits. We cover trading losses. Your only financial exposure is the evaluation fee.

It’s a structure that’s long existed in traditional finance. Kraken Prop brings it to crypto.

Who is Kraken Prop for?

Kraken Prop is for any trader who believes their edge is bigger than their bankroll. Whether you’re an experienced crypto trader looking to scale up without additional personal risk, or an aspiring trader ready to prove your strategy in a real environment, Kraken Prop gives you the infrastructure to do it.

How Kraken Prop works

Getting started is straightforward:

Buy an evaluation

Choose a wallet size between $5,000 and $200,000 and purchase an evaluation. You’ll trade in a simulated environment that reflects live market conditions, working toward a profit target while staying within defined loss limits. There’s no time limit, so you can trade at your own pace.

Kraken Prop is charging an “evaluation fee” of between $45-$800, depending on the wallet size.

Get funded

Pass the evaluation and you’ll receive a funded wallet loaded with up to $200,000 of our capital. No deposit required. Your evaluation fee is your only financial risk; we cover trading losses from there.

Collect your profits

Once funded, keep 80% of your profits, or upgrade to a 90% and keep even more. Withdraw to your Kraken account at any time, with payouts processed within 24 hours.

Why Kraken Prop is different

A lot of prop programs come with strings attached. Kraken Prop doesn’t.

There are no time limits on evaluations, no consistency rules, no profit caps, and no restrictions on trading strategy. You trade 60+ crypto pairs, including BTC and ETH, with up to 5x leverage, deep liquidity, and the full suite of advanced tools available on Kraken Pro. The environment you evaluate in is the same one you trade in when funded.

Choose your wallet size

Kraken Prop offers six wallet tiers, from $5,000 up to $200,000, with evaluation fees starting at $20. Please note that all evaluation fees are non-refundable. Each plan comes with clearly defined profit targets and risk limits, so you always know exactly what you’re working toward.

More info on Kraken Prop

This is an unregulated service. This evaluation program is intentionally rigorous and designed to verify a trader’s risk-management skill and strategy discipline before any proprietary capital is allocated by Payward Oceanic Ltd. (POL).

Kraken said that most applicants do not pass on their first attempt, and there is no guarantee that your performance will improve or that you will pass any future evaluations. If you pass the evaluation phase and become a funded trader (“FT”) with POL, all market-facing transactions, if any, are carried out exclusively by POL, for POL’s own principal account and at its sole discretion. POL has discretion to determine which order type (A or B-book) it will apply. FTs do not own any trading account or position, and hold no beneficial or proprietary interest in POL’s accounts, assets or trades.

Kraken added that prospective traders should purchase an evaluation only if they are confident in their trading ability and knowingly accept the risk of not qualifying for a funded account. Evaluation fees are non-refundable for each attempt once trading begins, regardless of outcome.