Kraken launches Kraken Prop funded-trader program

Kraken launched Kraken Prop on May 27, 2026, a funded-trader program built into Kraken Pro and operated by Payward Oceanic Ltd., a Kraken subsidiary. The product uses technology from Breakout, which Kraken acquired in September 2025.

Traders can pass a paid skills evaluation to access funded capital ranging from $5,000 to $200,000 across six wallet tiers. Evaluation fees start at $20 and are non-refundable unless a trader funds an account and makes a withdrawal, per Breakout’s terms. The standard profit split is 80%; traders can upgrade to 90% by paying an additional fee.

Kraken Prop supports more than 60 crypto perpetual pairs and offers leverage up to 5x on Bitcoin and Ether and up to 2x on other coins. Successful applicants are typically funded within 12 to 24 hours. Payouts are available on demand, usually in USDC within 24 hours.

The program uses a simplified rule set by prop-firm standards. There is no time limit on evaluations, no consistency rule, no profit cap and no restrictions on trading strategy. Trading must take place on the Breakout Terminal; the product does not support MT4, MT5 or TradingView. Kraken describes the program as unregulated and sets an aggregate funding ceiling of $200,000 per trader.

Kraken acquired Breakout in September 2025 to bring the evaluation model in-house. Breakout was founded in 2023, issued more than 20,000 funded accounts, and moved from a B-book model to an A-book model that routes funded trades to live markets. Breakout’s leadership included co-founders Alex Miningham and Dylan Loomer, strategy lead Cred and a head of trading known as Adam.

The launch comes as Kraken prepares for a future public offering. In November 2025 the company raised $800 million at a $20 billion valuation from a group of institutional investors and confidentially filed an S-1 with the SEC on November 19, 2025. Kraken later paused its IPO timetable and in May 2026 was reported to be seeking additional funding at the same valuation. Kraken reported $1.5 billion in revenue for 2024, recorded quarterly revenue of $648 million in the third quarter of 2025, and has guided to more than $2.5 billion in revenue for 2025.

Kraken has spent more than $2 billion on acquisitions to add trading and derivatives infrastructure, including purchases that brought a futures brokerage and regulated derivatives capabilities into the company. Company executives presented Kraken Prop as a channel that can bring skilled retail traders onto the exchange where they can access spot, perpetuals and exchange-listed derivatives.

Market competitors include crypto-native retail funding platforms that offer similar funded-account products and payout terms. Kraken’s offering differs by operating inside its exchange, using an established balance sheet and exchange liquidity.

Arjun Sethi described Breakout’s model as “a filter for scalable signal — a way to allocate capital on proof of skill rather than access to it.” Alex Miningham has said the prop category contains many unreliable operators and promoted Breakout on a policy of not denying payouts.

Kraken Prop’s terms require traders to consider the non-refundable evaluation fee until they qualify and withdraw, the platform restriction to the Breakout Terminal, capped leverage and an overall funding ceiling. Kraken processes payouts in USDC and typically funds qualifying traders within a day.