Kraken Acquires Breakout: What It Means for Prop Trading and Aspiring Prop Firm Founders

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Kraken Makes Its Move into Prop Firm Trading

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Kraken, one of the longest-standing names in crypto, has officially entered the prop firm trading arena with its acquisition of Breakout, a crypto-native evaluation-based prop firm. The deal positions Kraken as the first major crypto exchange to combine its trading infrastructure with a funded account model.

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Breakout offers traders up to $200,000 in notional capital with no personal deposit required. Traders must pass an evaluation to demonstrate skill and risk management discipline. Those who succeed can keep up to 90% of profits, with payouts available on demand.

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Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Kraken, described the acquisition as a shift toward rewarding performance:

“Breakout gives us a way to allocate capital based on proof of skill rather than access to capital itself.”

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This move is part of Kraken’s broader strategy. Following its $1.5 billion purchase of NinjaTrader earlier this year, Kraken is expanding into new markets while preparing for an IPO in 2026.

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Why This Acquisition Matters

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For traders, this partnership creates a new pathway to scale without needing large upfront capital. Breakout brings:

• Access to 50+ crypto pairs
  
  
• Up to 5× leverage on BTC and ETH
  
  
• Transparent rules and drawdown controls
  
  
• A trader-first design focused on skill over capital
  
  

For Kraken, it strengthens their reputation as an innovator by blending exchange liquidity with prop firm trading evaluation models.

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What It Signals for the Prop Firm Industry

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Kraken’s entry validates a trend that has been growing across forex, futures, and now crypto: traders want access to capital based on merit. This is the same momentum driving the rise of firms like FTMO, Goat Funded Trader, and other retail prop firms.

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The acquisition shows that prop firm technology is no longer a niche product, it’s becoming part of mainstream financial infrastructure.

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The Opportunity: Starting Your Own Prop Firm

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If you’re reading this news and thinking, “I’d like to launch something similar”, you’re not alone. Entrepreneurs worldwide are looking to start a crypto prop firm, a forex prop firm, or even a futures-focused one.

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To build a sustainable operation, prop firms need more than just capital. They need a prop firm solution that covers:

• White label prop firm technology for fast deployment
• Smooth, automated onboarding and payout processes
• Real-time analytics for traders and internal ops
• Advanced risk tools to monitor behavior and performance
• Lifecycle automation to improve retention and communication
• Gamified reward systems that boost loyalty and reduce churn
• Scalable competition infrastructure

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This is what it takes to operate with confidence - not just at launch, but long-term.

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With these tools in place, you can start a crypto prop firm that mirrors the professionalism of Kraken and Breakout, while maintaining control of branding and operations.

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Quick Guide: How to Start a Prop Firm in 2025

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If you’re preparing to launch, consider this streamlined framework:

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1. Decide your industry: 

Choose your asset class (Forex, crypto, futures, or sports) and start drafting your challenges.

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2. Choose your tech approach: 

Compare in-house vs. white label. Prioritize speed to market, risk protection, and margin-friendly pricing (99% of the times, starting with white label prop firm tech is way better).

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3. Open the company: 

make sure you rely on a good legal/accounting team and start the procedures of the company's incorporation.

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4. Plan for payments: 

Select the right PSP to integrate. It’s important to support payments for your geographic targets. The more payment options, the better (credit/debit card, crypto, paypal, googlePay, ApplePay etc…)

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5. Plan the onboarding flow: 

How do you want to manage the onboarding flow of each user? What email should a user receive after he signs up to your firm? Dedicate some time with your team and plan the best onboarding flow possible.

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6. Define your Marketing Budget: 

Once your marketing budget is defined, you’ll need to decide how to allocate your funds. Do you want an in-house team? Are you going to pay an agency? Which platforms do you want to invest on? How much are you going to pay your affiliates? These are some of the questions you could ask yourself at this stage.

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7. Implement engagement systems: 

Consider launching with a reward system - data from TradeTechSolutions.io shows this can boost revenue by up to 25% since the first month.

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8. Soft Launch: 

Dedicate a couple of days/weeks to testing:

• payment flows

• user experience

• automated emails

• risk tools

Invest time in analyzing the feedback you gather from this phase.

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9. Public Launch, then adapt: 

Publicly announce your company is live and start onboarding clients. Use your risk tools to monitor behavior from day one. Stay responsive to users’ feedback and keep adapting to the market conditions.

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Why Now Is the Right Time

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• Market validation: Kraken’s acquisition proves that the evaluation model is here to stay.
  
  
• Global interest: Traders want access to funded accounts across crypto, forex, and futures.
  
  
• Tech availability: White-label prop firm tech now allows new prop firms to launch quickly without reinventing the wheel.

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Official Announcement

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Here’s the original announcement from Kraken on X (Twitter):

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Final Thoughts

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Kraken and Breakout are setting a new standard for crypto-funded accounts. But this model isn’t exclusive to large exchanges, any entrepreneur with the right technology partner can launch a prop firm today.

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You can start a crypto prop firm in less than 15 days with our white-label prop firm technology, CRM, advanced risk management tools and porp firm gamified tools to attract and keep traders.

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Book a call with our team today at Trade Tech Solutions to explore how we can bring your crypto prop firm idea to life.

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