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Are prop firms going away?
Prop firms are not being banned, but the industry has weathered platform cut-offs, a CFTC case and closures. What changed, and how to spot trouble.
Are prop firms going away?
No. Prop firms are not being banned and many still operate, but the industry has been reshaped by a CFTC lawsuit in 2023, MetaQuotes withdrawing MetaTrader from prop firms in 2024, and a series of closures. Individual firms fail regularly, so the practical question is whether your firm is healthy.
About this guide
Updated by the Prop Firm Pal editorial team.
What changed
Three events account for most of the “are prop firms dying” talk.
- August 2023 — the CFTC sues My Forex Funds. Assets were frozen and the firm stopped trading. The CFTC complaint alleged fraud; in May 2025 the court dismissed it with prejudice and sanctioned the agency.
- February 2024 — MetaQuotes cuts off prop firms. True Forex Funds lost its MetaTrader licences and suspended operations; several firms stopped onboarding US traders and moved to other platforms.
- Ongoing — firms close or wind down. Some closures follow a platform or payment provider withdrawing; others follow rising payouts against falling sales. See prop firm collapse.
Are prop firms getting banned?
We are not aware of any major market that has banned retail prop firm evaluations. What has happened is enforcement against individual firms, pressure through the platforms and payment providers firms rely on, and restrictions on who firms can serve — US traders at many forex firms, for example. Are prop firms regulated? covers the US, UK and Indian position.
The industry is still large
Prop Firm Pal tracks 633 prop firms. Our industry traffic report measures how the category’s web audience is changing month to month, and the firm health tracker shows which firms are growing and which are losing their audience — the most visible early sign of a firm in trouble.
Signs a firm is winding down
Firms rarely announce a closure in advance. The signals usually come first:
- Payout delays, or new review steps before payouts.
- Rule changes applied to existing accounts, especially tighter payout rules — tracked on the changes log.
- Deep, constant discounts on evaluations.
- A platform, broker or payment provider being replaced at short notice.
- A falling audience on the firm health tracker.
Protecting yourself
Withdraw on schedule rather than letting profit build in a funded account. Avoid buying long-dated subscriptions or bundles from a firm showing warning signs. Spread accounts across firms if you run several. And keep records of every fee and payout — they matter for disputes and for tax.
What a healthy firm looks like
The opposite signals are just as useful. A firm that has operated for several years, pays across many traders, changes rules rarely and announces changes in advance, names its platform and data providers, and holds a steady or growing audience is carrying less of the risk that ended the firms above.
No signal is a guarantee. A healthy firm can still lose a platform or payment partner, which is why withdrawing on schedule matters at every firm.
Why the model persists
The demand behind prop firms has not gone away: traders with small accounts want to trade size with their loss capped, and firms can serve that demand with simulated accounts funded by fees. Pressure has come through the infrastructure the firms rely on — platforms, brokers, payment providers — and through enforcement against individual firms, rather than through a ban on the model itself.
What has changed is the shape of the market: after 2024 many forex firms moved to platforms other than MetaTrader, and many stopped serving US traders.
FAQs — Are prop firms going away?
Updated 2026-09-24. Sources are linked where each claim is made.
Are prop firms being banned?
We are not aware of a ban in any major market. Regulators have acted against individual firms, and platforms and payment providers have restricted which firms and traders they serve.
Why did so many prop firms close?
Common causes are losing a trading platform or payment provider, regulatory action, and payouts growing faster than evaluation sales.
What happens to my account if a prop firm closes?
Usually the account ends and unpaid profit may be lost; there is generally no compensation scheme. Withdrawing on schedule limits the exposure.
Is the prop firm industry growing or shrinking?
It changes month to month. Our industry traffic report and firm health tracker measure it from web traffic across the firms we track.
Which prop firms have closed?
The firm health tracker follows each tracked firm’s audience month to month and shows which are losing it; the glossary entry on prop firm collapse describes how closures usually unfold.
Can US traders still use prop firms?
Yes. Futures prop firms widely accept US traders, and some forex firms still do on platforms other than MetaTrader. Check each firm’s country list before paying.
Will prop firms be regulated in future?
Nobody can say with certainty. Regulators have acted against individual firms, and existing rules on promotions and payments already apply; watch the regulator’s own announcements rather than rumours.
Should I avoid prop firms because some have closed?
Not necessarily, but limit your exposure: keep accounts small at newer firms, withdraw on schedule, avoid prepaying for long periods, and check a firm’s health before each purchase.
Sources
Primary documents and reporting this guide relies on.
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