Kraken adds S&P 500 to funded trading program, with commodities on the roadmap

Kraken just quietly did something that would have sounded absurd three years ago: it’s letting crypto traders take positions on the S&P 500 using the exchange’s own money.

The company announced on August 12 that its Kraken Prop funded trading program now includes the S&P 500 as a perpetual contract, available for trading 24/7. Traders who pass the platform’s evaluation process can access wallet sizes ranging from $5,000 to $200,000 in firm capital, keeping between 80% and 90% of whatever profits they generate. The S&P 500 joins the Nasdaq 100, which was previously the first traditional finance market added to the program.

How the program works

Kraken Prop operates on the funded trading model that has become increasingly popular in both forex and crypto circles. The basic pitch is simple: prove you can trade well during an evaluation period, and the firm hands you real capital to deploy.

There are no time limits on the evaluations, which removes one of the more frustrating constraints that competing prop firms typically impose. Instead, traders are subject to drawdown rules, meaning they need to demonstrate consistent risk management rather than just racing to hit a profit target before a deadline expires.

Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 contracts come with 5x leverage and a notional trading cap of $1 million. Profit payouts happen within 24 hours, which is a notable speed advantage over traditional prop trading firms where settlement can drag on for days or longer.

The perpetual contract format is worth flagging. Unlike futures contracts that expire on fixed dates, perpetuals let traders hold positions indefinitely. This is standard architecture in crypto markets but relatively novel when applied to equity index exposure. It means a trader on Kraken Prop can take a position on the S&P 500 at 2 AM on a Sunday, something that’s simply not possible through conventional brokerage accounts.

The blurring line between crypto and TradFi

Kraken Prop launched on May 27, 2026, following the exchange’s acquisition of Breakout, a funded trading platform. The acquisition gave Kraken the infrastructure and regulatory framework needed to offer prop trading services, and the company has been steadily expanding the product’s asset coverage since.

This isn’t purely theoretical value. Global events don’t pause for market hours. A trader who spots a geopolitical development over the weekend can act on it immediately through Kraken Prop rather than waiting for Monday morning’s opening bell, by which point the move may already be priced in.

Commodities and beyond

Kraken has signaled that commodities are next on the roadmap after equity indices. While specifics on which commodities or timelines haven’t been detailed, the direction is clear: the exchange wants to become a one-stop shop where traders can move between crypto, equities, and commodities within a single platform.

For retail traders, the funded model eliminates the capital barrier that typically gates access to serious trading. Someone with strong analytical skills but limited savings can trade a $200,000 book on the S&P 500 without putting up that capital themselves. The 80-90% profit split is competitive with industry standards for prop trading firms, and arguably more attractive when combined with the speed of crypto-native payouts.

For Kraken, the math works differently. The exchange keeps 10-20% of profits generated by successful traders while bearing the downside risk on losing accounts. The drawdown rules and evaluation process serve as filters, ensuring that only consistently profitable traders get access to larger capital allocations.

One risk worth watching is regulatory scrutiny. Offering leveraged exposure to US equity indices through perpetual contracts sits in a complex regulatory zone, particularly in the US. How regulators classify these products, whether as swaps, futures, or something else, could materially affect who can access them and under what conditions.

The funded trading model itself adds another layer. When the firm is providing capital and the trader is keeping most of the upside, regulators may look closely at whether this constitutes a form of securities lending or investment advisory relationship. Kraken’s acquisition of Breakout presumably addressed some of these considerations, but the addition of equity indices to the product suite raises the stakes.

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