In preparation for the launch of Prop Pulse, Brokeree Solutions conducted a comprehensive market analysis of 80+ traders’ funding firms in Q1 2024. In Q4, the research was repeated using the same sample and methodology to understand the significant shifts in the prop trading industry over the past year. In this article, we will discuss a part of the findings and highlight the most significant trends in this area.

The research initially analyzed more than 146 prop trading companies. However, only 82 of them were included in the final sample based on similarity of business models. Using publicly available data, Brokeree collected and analyzed information about:

• Country of registration;
• Trading platforms utilized;
• Fees for challenges.

Here the differences between the results from the first and last quarters of 2024.

Changes in the Prop Trading Landscape in 2024

By Q4 2024 only 71 out of 82 companies remained operational — an 86.6% survival rate. The significant increase in the number of prop trading startups during late 2023 and early 2024 lead to a slight decrease in the number of operating companies to the end of the year. This trend indicates a natural market correction that eliminated less sustainable business models. It’s possible that this consolidation trend may continue into 2025.

Events that affected the market and led to the closure of some companies were: the heightened regulatory scrutiny of prop trading companies in the United States that started in mid-2024 and the shutdown of trading platforms. These changes were reflected in the geographical distribution of prop firms and their trading platforms preferences.

Geography

The United States and United Kingdom maintained their market leadership at the beginning of 2024. They accounted for 60% of the total volume of countries. These countries retained their leadership by the end of the year despite experiencing a decrease in registered firms from the sample size. Notably,  the United Arab Emirates emerged as a popular destination for prop firms, increasing its market share from 8% to 15%.

At the same time, the number of countries where prop firms were registered has decreased due to the reduction in offshore registrations. This trend indicates clusterization and emergence of industry hubs and corresponds with similar trends in the retail trading industry.

Trading platforms

Platform utilization patterns shifted significantly throughout 2024. Although Metaquotes (MetaTrader 4 and 5) is still the largest player in the market, the share of MetaTrader among other trading platforms has decreased from 48% in Q1 to 24% in Q4. The remaining share was distributed among cTrader, Tradelocker, DXTrade and Match Trader resulting in 42%.

Importantly, the number of trading platforms has increased over the course of the year. Prop companies have started to provide users with more choices and have connected several platforms to their infrastructure. In Q1 2024, each company had an average of 1.8 platforms, but by the end of the year, this number had increased to 2.6.

—

Learn more about the research from the Brokeree team at Finance Magnates London Summit between 18 and 20th November 2024 at booth 59.

—

Offers

Proprietary trading companies usually structure their offers in tiers. The lower-cost challenges provide accessible starting points for new customers, conversely, premium offers entice clients to reduce the number of evaluation steps and manage a larger account.

Since the beginning of the year the “core” of the offer has not changed significantly but the industry has moved from a wide range of offers to more standardized conditions. This resulted in the decreased difference between the minimum challenge price and funded account size and fewer opportunities to access large trading accounts with minimal entry fees. Also, there has been a shift in offers favoring current trading conditions, instead of progressing abilities and scaling plans.

Launch prop trading operations with Brokeree Prop Pulse

Brokeree’s Prop Pulse is an account management solution for prop trading firms that allows companies to set up multi-step challenges for traders’ evaluation and scouting.

The system enables brokers to create comprehensive multi-step challenges for assessing traders with several customizable indicators, objectives, and conditions at each step, ensuring accurate finetuning of challenge conditions. As traders complete a step, Prop Pulse smoothly transitions them to the subsequent level until they finish the entire challenge.