Prop firm regulation tracker

As of 7 November 2026, no open consultation or deadline on prop firms is on this tracker. The tracker holds 11 dated regulator statements, warnings, enforcement steps and platform decisions from 29 August 2023 to 26 June 2026, each with its source. Nothing here is legal advice.

Date	Jurisdiction	Body	What happened	Status	Deadline	Source
26 June 2026	European Union	ESMA, via the chair of its Risk Standing Committee	ESMA is not engaged in substantive discussions on retail prop trading, says CySEC chairman George Theocharides	statement	none	Finance Magnates, 26 June 2026
31 March 2026	Platforms	Spotware (cTrader)	cTrader restricts onboarding of US-based prop traders after an internal regulatory assessment	platform action	none	Finance Magnates, 1 July 2026
12 August 2025	United Kingdom	Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)	FCA warning that Funded Trader (funded-trader.net) is not authorised	warning	none	FCA warning list, 12 August 2025
13 May 2025	United States	US District Court for the District of New Jersey, in CFTC v. Traders Global Group (My Forex Funds)	The CFTC's fraud case against My Forex Funds is dismissed with prejudice and the agency is sanctioned	enforcement	none	Finance Magnates, 14 May 2025
3 October 2024	Czech Republic	Czech National Bank (CNB)	CNB says demo-account prop trading is not an investment service and needs no CNB permit	statement	none	Finance Magnates, 3 October 2024
18 July 2024	Canada (Ontario)	Capital Markets Tribunal, on application of the Ontario Securities Commission	Cease-trade order against Traders Global Group (My Forex Funds) extended on consent	enforcement	none	Capital Markets Tribunal (Ontario), 18 July 2024
8 July 2024	Italy	Consob	Consob warns retail investors about funded trading offers it compares to a finance video game	warning	none	ANSA, 8 July 2024
6 June 2024	Czech Republic	Czech National Bank (CNB)	CNB says some prop trading business models may be subject to the MiFID framework	statement	none	Finance Magnates, 6 June 2024
7 March 2024	Belgium	Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA)	FSMA warns consumers against prop trading firms and the 'shadow investment game'	warning	none	FSMA, 7 March 2024
14 February 2024	Platforms	MetaQuotes (MetaTrader 4 and 5)	MetaQuotes pressure on brokers cuts prop firms off MetaTrader, starting the February 2024 wave of pauses and closures	platform action	none	Finance Magnates, 14 February 2024
29 August 2023	United States	CFTC, with the Ontario Securities Commission	CFTC charges Traders Global Group (My Forex Funds) with fraud and freezes its assets; the OSC issues a temporary cease-trade order	enforcement	none	Ontario Securities Commission, 29 August 2023

United States

No US rule names prop firms or funded-trader programmes. The CFTC's one large case, against My Forex Funds, was dismissed with prejudice in May 2025 and the agency was sanctioned, so there is no court ruling either way on the funded-account model. Reports of a CFTC consultation closing on 30 November 2026 circulate on industry blogs, but PropTested could not find it on cftc.gov or in the Federal Register. A US trader is dealing with an unregulated counterparty unless the firm itself holds a registration; Finance Magnates described Topstep in June 2026 as operating through a registered introducing broker that passes orders to a futures commission merchant.

13 May 2025. The CFTC's fraud case against My Forex Funds is dismissed with prejudice and the agency is sanctioned

Judge Edward S. Kiel dismissed the CFTC's 2023 complaint against the parent of My Forex Funds with prejudice and ordered the agency to pay the defendants' fees on the sanctions motion, which Law360 later reported at more than $3 million. The ruling turned on the agency's conduct in the case, not on whether the funded-account model is lawful, so it settles nothing about how prop firms are regulated in the US.

US District Court for the District of New Jersey, in CFTC v. Traders Global Group (My Forex Funds). Status enforcement. Sources Finance Magnates, 14 May 2025; King & Spalding, May 2025; Law360, July 2025; FX News Group, 6 April 2026.

29 August 2023. CFTC charges Traders Global Group (My Forex Funds) with fraud and freezes its assets; the OSC issues a temporary cease-trade order

The CFTC's complaint alleged that the firm solicited members of the public to become funded traders, a court froze its assets, and Ontario's OSC issued a temporary cease-trade order on 29 August 2023. This is the US enforcement case that trade press still refers back to, and its collapse in May 2025 is the reason regulators still have no court precedent on the funded-account model.

CFTC, with the Ontario Securities Commission. Status enforcement. Sources Ontario Securities Commission, 29 August 2023; CFTC, September 2023.

European Union

There is no EU-level rule for prop firms. The chair of ESMA's Risk Standing Committee said in June 2026 that the topic is not among ESMA's immediate priorities, and the Czech National Bank said in 2024 that any need for new regulation should be assessed at EU level. Until that changes, a trader's position depends on the country the firm sits in and on whether the firm executes real trades for clients, which can bring it inside MiFID.

26 June 2026. ESMA is not engaged in substantive discussions on retail prop trading, says CySEC chairman George Theocharides

The person who chairs ESMA's Risk Standing Committee said in June 2026 that retail prop trading does not rank among ESMA's immediate priorities, given the relatively limited size of the sector. For a trader in the EU this means no EU-wide rule for prop firms is in preparation that PropTested can point to, and national regulators decide case by case.

ESMA, via the chair of its Risk Standing Committee. Status statement. Sources Finance Magnates, 26 June 2026; Cyprus Mail, 2 July 2026.

Belgium

The FSMA's warning of 7 March 2024 is the clearest national statement in the EU. It says prop trading companies hold no authorisation and may not provide investment services, that the consumer only ever plays on a demo account, and that the firm alone decides whether a trade is copied and a commission paid. A Belgian trader has no investor protection behind a challenge fee.

7 March 2024. FSMA warns consumers against prop trading firms and the 'shadow investment game'

The FSMA said prop trading companies do not hold any authorisation and therefore are not allowed to provide investment services, that the consumer never makes any actual trades and plays on a demo account, and that the firm alone decides whether a trade is copied and a commission paid. A Belgian trader who pays for a challenge is buying a game-like service from an unauthorised firm, with no investor protection behind it.

Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA). Status warning. Sources FSMA, 7 March 2024; Finance Magnates, 7 March 2024.

Italy

Consob's warning of 8 July 2024 describes the offers as a finance video game and reports complaints that tests seem built to make users retry and that promised profits went unpaid. It is a warning, not a ban, and it opens no route to recover money.

8 July 2024. Consob warns retail investors about funded trading offers it compares to a finance video game

Consob said the offers simulate online trading in a kind of finance video game aimed at passing skill tests, and that it had received reports from users that the tests seem designed to make them retry and that promised profits were not shared. The warning tells Italian traders what to expect; it does not ban the firms or give a trader a route to recover money.

Consob. Status warning. Sources ANSA, 8 July 2024; Finance Magnates, 8 July 2024.

Czech Republic

The Czech National Bank drew the line twice in 2024. A firm that keeps every trader on a demo account without entering real trading instructions needs no CNB permit, while a model that handles or executes client orders or deals on own account may fall under MiFID. The home of FTMO and several other large firms therefore does not supervise the demo-account model.

3 October 2024. CNB says demo-account prop trading is not an investment service and needs no CNB permit

In answers published on its website, the CNB said that simulated trading without entering and executing real trading instructions is not an activity subject to a CNB permit. A Czech-based firm that keeps every trader on a demo account is therefore outside CNB supervision, which also means a trader has no regulator to complain to about an unpaid profit share.

Czech National Bank (CNB). Status statement. Sources Finance Magnates, 3 October 2024.

6 June 2024. CNB says some prop trading business models may be subject to the MiFID framework

The CNB told Finance Magnates that prop firms' business models take various forms, some of which may fall under MiFID services such as reception and transmission of orders, execution of orders on behalf of clients, or dealing on own account, and that any new regulation should be assessed at EU level. Whether a Czech firm is supervised depends on how it is built, so a trader cannot assume CNB oversight from the firm's address alone.

Czech National Bank (CNB). Status statement. Sources Finance Magnates, 6 June 2024.

United Kingdom

The FCA has published no rule or policy statement specific to prop firms that PropTested could find. Its one dated action in the window is a warning of 12 August 2025 that a firm trading as Funded Trader is not authorised. A UK trader at a prop firm has no FCA authorisation, no Financial Ombudsman route and no FSCS cover behind the fee.

12 August 2025. FCA warning that Funded Trader (funded-trader.net) is not authorised

The FCA published a warning that the firm trading as Funded Trader may be providing or promoting financial services without its permission and that people should avoid dealing with it. The warning names one website and is not a statement on prop firms in general; PropTested found no FCA rule or policy statement that is specific to prop firms as of 7 November 2026.

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Status warning. Sources FCA warning list, 12 August 2025.

Canada (Ontario)

Ontario's securities regulator moved against My Forex Funds in August 2023 with a temporary cease-trade order, and the Capital Markets Tribunal extended it in July 2024 with a receiver in place. No later order was found, so the outcome of the Ontario proceeding is unknown.

18 July 2024. Cease-trade order against Traders Global Group (My Forex Funds) extended on consent

The tribunal extended the OSC's temporary cease-trade order of August 2023 against Traders Global Group and its founder, with a court-appointed receiver in place. PropTested found no later order, so the status of the Ontario proceeding after July 2024 is unknown.

Capital Markets Tribunal, on application of the Ontario Securities Commission. Status enforcement. Sources Capital Markets Tribunal (Ontario), 18 July 2024; Ontario Securities Commission, 29 August 2023.

Platforms

Platform vendors have acted faster than regulators. MetaQuotes pressure in February 2024 cut prop firms off MetaTrader and set off a wave of pauses and closures, and Spotware restricted US onboarding on cTrader after an internal regulatory assessment in early 2026. For a trader the practical question is which platform a plan runs on and what the firm says will happen if that platform is withdrawn.

31 March 2026. cTrader restricts onboarding of US-based prop traders after an internal regulatory assessment

Spotware said it made the decision after an internal regulatory assessment in the first quarter of 2026, and FundedNext, The5ers and Goat Funded Trader removed cTrader for US clients between March and June 2026. A US trader at a cTrader firm may be moved to another platform, so check which platform a plan runs on before paying.

Spotware (cTrader). Status platform action. Sources Finance Magnates, 1 July 2026.

14 February 2024. MetaQuotes pressure on brokers cuts prop firms off MetaTrader, starting the February 2024 wave of pauses and closures

Broker Blackbull Markets said it was forced by MetaQuotes to terminate its services to prop trading, Funding Pips went offline for about a week, True Forex Funds lost its licences and later closed, and FTMO, The5ers, Crypto Fund Trader, Lark Funding and FXIFY cut MetaTrader access for US clients. MetaQuotes made no public statement, so the trigger is a platform vendor's licensing decision rather than a regulator, and it shows how much a firm depends on its platform.

MetaQuotes (MetaTrader 4 and 5). Status platform action. Sources Finance Magnates, 14 February 2024; Finance Magnates, 22 February 2024; FX News Group, 6 February 2024.

How this tracker is kept

An entry needs a regulator, court, platform vendor or established trade-press source with a URL and a date. Where the only source is an industry blog, the entry says so and its status reads reported. Jurisdictions with nothing sourced in the window, such as Dubai, Spain and Australia, are not listed rather than filled from marketing pages. Corrections with a source are welcome through the about page.

The firm-level consequences of platform decisions are on the prop firm closures page, and the closures chapter of The State of Prop Trading 2026 puts them next to fees and payouts. Which firms can be shown to pay is on the payout tracker.

Last reviewed 7 November 2026. Nothing on this page is legal advice; a trader with a dispute should ask a lawyer in their own country.

Questions traders ask

Are prop firms regulated?

Mostly no, as of 7 November 2026. No jurisdiction on this tracker has a rule written for prop firms; the regulators that have spoken, in Belgium, Italy and the Czech Republic, say the demo-account model sits outside their authorisation regimes, which also means it sits outside their investor protection. A few US futures firms, Topstep among them, operate through a registered introducing broker, and a firm that executes real client trades can fall under MiFID in the EU.

Is the CFTC regulating prop firms?

Not through any rule PropTested can find. The CFTC's fraud case against My Forex Funds was dismissed with prejudice on 13 May 2025 and the agency was ordered to pay the defendants' fees. Industry blogs report a consultation on futures prop firms with comments closing 30 November 2026, but no such notice appears in the CFTC press room or the Federal Register as of 7 November 2026.

Are prop firms legal in the EU?

Nothing in the sources bans them. ESMA has no rule in preparation, according to the chair of its Risk Standing Committee in June 2026, and the Czech National Bank said in October 2024 that demo-account prop trading needs no permit. Belgium's FSMA and Italy's Consob warned consumers in 2024 that the firms are unauthorised and that the consumer never trades real markets, which is a warning about protection, not a prohibition.

Are prop firms legal in Belgium?

The FSMA has not banned them, but its warning of 7 March 2024 says prop trading companies do not hold any authorisation and therefore are not allowed to provide investment services. 3 of the 86 firms PropTested lists name Belgium on their published restricted-country lists as of 7 November 2026, so check that list before paying.

Are prop firms regulated by the FCA in the UK?

No. The FCA has published no prop-firm rule that PropTested could find, and its one dated action in the window is a warning of 12 August 2025 against a firm trading as Funded Trader. A UK trader at a prop firm has no Financial Ombudsman route and no FSCS cover.

What did the My Forex Funds case decide?

Nothing about the business model. The court dismissed the CFTC's case with prejudice on 13 May 2025 because of the agency's conduct in the litigation and sanctioned it, and Law360 reported a fee award of more than $3 million in July 2025. The original company began contacting traders owed payouts in April 2026, and the brand was sold without its liabilities in August 2026.