How to Vet a Futures Prop Firm Before You Fund It
Two more prop firms shut their doors this spring. Nobody blinked.
That’s the strange part of what’s happening in the funded-trader world right now. The industry crossed 2 million funded traders and roughly $850 million in size, growing about 45% year over year, and at the same time it’s quietly shedding companies. Somewhere between 80 and 100 firms have disappeared since 2024. Growth and die-off at once.
We coach a lot of traders through this decision at Hawai’i Trading Academy, and the question we hear most is the wrong one: “Which firm has the cheapest challenge?” The right question is: “Which firm will still be here when I ask for a payout?”
Why are prop firms disappearing if the industry is booming?
Call it the Great Migration. Traders are moving away from loosely-regulated forex-style shops toward regulated futures prop firms, the TopSteps, Apex, and MyFundedFutures of the world, because futures clear through a real exchange and the rules are clearer.
That migration is brutal...
Why You Fail the Prop Firm Eval (It's Not Your Strategy)
Ten to fifteen percent. That's about how many traders pass a futures prop firm evaluation on the first try. The other 85% mostly don't fail because their strategy was broken. They fail because they couldn't sit still.
We coach a lot of traders through the funded path at Hawai‘i Trading Academy, and the pattern is almost boring at this point. The chart is rarely the problem. The person holding the mouse is.
So what actually kills the eval?
Look at where evaluations die. Industry data from firms tracking hundreds of thousands of accounts puts roughly 70% of failures on one cause: a blown loss limit. A daily loss cap breached. A trailing drawdown tripped. Not a bad signal — a bad decision made in a bad emotional state.
That's the whole point. A drawdown breach isn't a strategy error. It's an emotional one. And emotions in an eval come in four flavors: fear, greed, hope, and regret. Each one breaks a different rule.
Fear makes you trade like the account is on fire
Fear shows up as he...