Proprietary trading remains unregulated globally, but a new wave has emerged among US-based companies falling under the jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Although FTMO was involved in the OANDA acquisition, recent moves by Topstep and Tradeify demonstrate the changing priorities of these companies.
Interestingly, the push by Topstep and Tradeify came before the appointment of DJ Hennes as director of the regulator’s Market Participants Division (MPD), which will oversee all CFTC-regulated brokers.
The next chapter for support companies: becoming intermediaries
The interest of support companies in brokerage licenses is not hidden: many have chosen one of them. However, most of them turned to third-party regulators because their primary motivation was to secure access to popular trading platforms, especially MetaTrader.
On the other hand, interest in CFTC licensing seems to have arisen from a different perspective.
The United States has always been a lucrative market for retail. However, the regulatory bodies there, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and its securities counterpart, are very strict – they only allow US-regulated platforms to onboard traders in the country. It is also the only country where offshore brokers can be prosecuted for illegally enrolling clients and taking deposits.
Support companies have efficiently filled this gap because they are not brokers and only offer trading in “simulated environments.” However, a MetaQuotes crackdown on support companies involving US traders in early 2024 nearly put several platforms out of business overnight, until they relaunched in that market with alternatives.
DJ Hennis, Director of the Market Participant Division (MPD) of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
The CFTC’s actions against My Forex Funds also alarmed support firms taking on clients from the country, as they overnight changed the language on their websites to make it clear that the activities were “simulated”. Although this concern has not gone away, the CFTC has not officially issued any statement about the legality of prop companies.
The new MPD director is also vocal in the cryptocurrency markets and forecasting, but has yet to say a word about the support trading industry.
Read more: “I had to beg, borrowing money from family and friends,” said Forex Funds founder Murtaza Kazemi
The retail market in the United States is huge. Support companies now want a piece of it
The US market is now dominated by futures support platforms such as Topstep, Tradeify, MyFundedFutures and a few others. Giants abroad love The5ers and FundedNext It now also offers futures trading, primarily aimed at US-based traders.
Interestingly, US-based futures backing companies are now acting as introducing brokers. One proven example is Tradeify, which recently It launched its own brokerage unit, Slay Markets. The platform also signed a deal with NinjaTrader as its sole clearing house.
Another move recently came from Topstep, which has been registered with the National Futures Association (NFA) as a swap firm and is also approved to act as a Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA).
MyFundedFutures, another prominent name in the futures backing sector in the US as well He hinted at becoming a “fully licensed IB.”.
A US Introducing Broker (IB) can accept orders to buy or sell futures, forex, commodity options, or swaps, but more importantly, it does not hold or accept client funds to back those orders. It acts as a conduit, passing client orders to the Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) for execution and clearing.
On the other hand, a swap dealer is an entity that presents itself as a trader in swaps, markets swaps, or regularly enters into swaps as a principal on its own account in the ordinary course of business. Any entity that exceeds the $8 billion aggregate minimum in swap trading activity must register with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
FTMO is an anomaly, but others have potential too
FTMO, headquartered in the Czech Republic, is the only support company involved in the United States. He – she Completed its acquisition of OANDAone of the major financial brokerage companies in the United States, last December. Only four retail foreign exchange dealers (RFEDs) are currently registered with the NFA in the United States, and OANDA is one of them.
FCM is at the center of the US regulated financial derivatives market, acting as an order taker and asset custodian. While an introducing broker simply connects clients to the market, an FCM goes further: it orders and accepts orders to buy or sell futures, futures options, over-the-counter retail forex trading, and swaps, and holds clients’ funds and assets to cover those positions.
When a trade is submitted, margin flows through the FCM to the exchange, meaning that the FCM absorbs the financial risk in the event that a client fails to meet a margin call. This direct exposure to counterparty risk is why FCMs are subject to more stringent capital adequacy standards and ongoing financial reporting obligations compared to introducing brokers, and why the CFTC monitors their balance sheets on a routine basis.
The low-barrier IB model, which appeals to most US support companies, is very popular. There are currently 885 registered IBs in the country.
When I was working in brokerages, I had a large number of affiliates and introducing brokers. Some were referring to the more than 30 customers filing in each day. Although I appreciated their business at that time in my career, I had never used an affiliate link to register a brokerage account and…
– Josh Dentrinos – Founder of Trader Fights (@PropJoshD) May 15, 2026
The IB sector in the United States is located within the much larger US securities broking industry. According to Research and Markets, the US stock brokerage market was worth about $201 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow at a 4 percent compound annual growth rate to $280.5 billion by 2033.
Although the specific revenue figure related to the IB is still unknown, introducing brokers earn through commission discounts from FCMs, typically through fees per lot or on a volume basis, making their total revenues highly dependent on trading volumes.
Although Tradeify’s goals are clear, Topstep’s plans as a swap trader remain unknown. However, the filings demonstrate two things: better protection under a regulatory regime and an opportunity to secure a piece of the US market.
Proprietary trading remains unregulated globally, but a new wave has emerged among US-based companies falling under the jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Although FTMO was involved in the OANDA acquisition, recent moves by Topstep and Tradeify demonstrate the changing priorities of these companies.
Interestingly, the push by Topstep and Tradeify came before the appointment of DJ Hennes as director of the regulator’s Market Participants Division (MPD), which will oversee all CFTC-regulated brokers.
The next chapter for support companies: becoming intermediaries
The interest of support companies in brokerage licenses is not hidden: many have chosen one of them. However, most of them turned to third-party regulators because their primary motivation was to secure access to popular trading platforms, especially MetaTrader.
On the other hand, interest in CFTC licensing seems to have arisen from a different perspective.
The United States has always been a lucrative market for retail. However, the regulatory bodies there, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and its securities counterpart, are very strict – they only allow US-regulated platforms to onboard traders in the country. It is also the only country where offshore brokers can be prosecuted for illegally enrolling clients and taking deposits.
Support companies have efficiently filled this gap because they are not brokers and only offer trading in “simulated environments.” However, a MetaQuotes crackdown on support companies involving US traders in early 2024 nearly put several platforms out of business overnight, until they relaunched in that market with alternatives.
DJ Hennis, Director of the Market Participant Division (MPD) of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
The CFTC’s actions against My Forex Funds also alarmed support firms taking on clients from the country, as they overnight changed the language on their websites to make it clear that the activities were “simulated”. Although this concern has not gone away, the CFTC has not officially issued any statement about the legality of prop companies.
The new MPD director is also vocal in the cryptocurrency markets and forecasting, but has yet to say a word about the support trading industry.
Read more: “I had to beg, borrowing money from family and friends,” said Forex Funds founder Murtaza Kazemi
The retail market in the United States is huge. Support companies now want a piece of it
The US market is now dominated by futures support platforms such as Topstep, Tradeify, MyFundedFutures and a few others. Giants abroad love The5ers and FundedNext It now also offers futures trading, primarily aimed at US-based traders.
Interestingly, US-based futures backing companies are now acting as introducing brokers. One proven example is Tradeify, which recently It launched its own brokerage unit, Slay Markets. The platform also signed a deal with NinjaTrader as its sole clearing house.
Another move recently came from Topstep, which has been registered with the National Futures Association (NFA) as a swap firm and is also approved to act as a Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA).
MyFundedFutures, another prominent name in the futures backing sector in the US as well He hinted at becoming a “fully licensed IB.”.
A US Introducing Broker (IB) can accept orders to buy or sell futures, forex, commodity options, or swaps, but more importantly, it does not hold or accept client funds to back those orders. It acts as a conduit, passing client orders to the Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) for execution and clearing.
On the other hand, a swap dealer is an entity that presents itself as a trader in swaps, markets swaps, or regularly enters into swaps as a principal on its own account in the ordinary course of business. Any entity that exceeds the $8 billion aggregate minimum in swap trading activity must register with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
FTMO is an anomaly, but others have potential too
FTMO, headquartered in the Czech Republic, is the only support company involved in the United States. He – she Completed its acquisition of OANDAone of the major financial brokerage companies in the United States, last December. Only four retail foreign exchange dealers (RFEDs) are currently registered with the NFA in the United States, and OANDA is one of them.
FCM is at the center of the US regulated financial derivatives market, acting as an order taker and asset custodian. While an introducing broker simply connects clients to the market, an FCM goes further: it orders and accepts orders to buy or sell futures, futures options, over-the-counter retail forex trading, and swaps, and holds clients’ funds and assets to cover those positions.
When a trade is submitted, margin flows through the FCM to the exchange, meaning that the FCM absorbs the financial risk in the event that a client fails to meet a margin call. This direct exposure to counterparty risk is why FCMs are subject to more stringent capital adequacy standards and ongoing financial reporting obligations compared to introducing brokers, and why the CFTC monitors their balance sheets on a routine basis.
The low-barrier IB model, which appeals to most US support companies, is very popular. There are currently 885 registered IBs in the country.
When I was working in brokerages, I had a large number of affiliates and introducing brokers. Some were referring to the more than 30 customers filing in each day. Although I appreciated their business at that time in my career, I had never used an affiliate link to register a brokerage account and…
– Josh Dentrinos – Founder of Trader Fights (@PropJoshD) May 15, 2026
The IB sector in the United States is located within the much larger US securities broking industry. According to Research and Markets, the US stock brokerage market was worth about $201 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow at a 4 percent compound annual growth rate to $280.5 billion by 2033.
Although the specific revenue figure related to the IB is still unknown, introducing brokers earn through commission discounts from FCMs, typically through fees per lot or on a volume basis, making their total revenues highly dependent on trading volumes.
Although Tradeify’s goals are clear, Topstep’s plans as a swap trader remain unknown. However, the filings demonstrate two things: better protection under a regulatory regime and an opportunity to secure a piece of the US market.
