Over 80 prop firms shut down between 2024 and 2025. Some closed quietly. Others disappeared, leaving traders waiting.
If you’re evaluating a prop firm right now, this is the guide you need.
Not a comparison of challenge fees or profit splits - those matter, but they’re not the foundation. This is about the main criteria that tell you whether a firm will still be standing in 12 months, and whether they’ll actually pay you when you earn it.
How Long Have They Been Operating?
A firm that’s been running for four-plus years has been through real market conditions - major volatility events, regulatory shifts, platform changes - and experienced them while keeping operations running and traders paid.
A firm that launched in 2024 has never truly been tested.
The minimum to look for: three years of operation. Four or more is meaningfully better.
Check company founding dates for better understanding of specific firm’s experience in the industry
How Much Have They Paid Funded Traders?
Total rewards distributed is the clearest proof-of-concept metric in the industry.
When a firm, like The Trading Pit, has distributed more then $16 million to traders that’s evidence, that system works.
Real rewards for real traders
This number also tells you about scale. A large figure means thousands of active funded accounts - a firm with genuine volume and operational depth, not just a handful of accounts and a polished landing page.
Are There Real Success Stories From Real Traders?
Success stories are easy to fake in small quantities. They’re almost impossible to fake at scale.
Here’s what genuine success stories look like:
Real names, specific earnings figures, diverse profiles - not just the 1 trader who earned a huge amount in month one, but the consistent earner who scaled consistently over time. Active community channels where traders are actually talking, asking questions, and sharing experiences.
Before you commit to any firm, spend time in their community, read the testimonials, watch the interviews. The authenticity is obvious when you’re looking for it and so is the absence of it.
Who Are the Founders? Where Is the Company Registered?
This is the check most traders skip. It’s also one of the most important.
The founders:
You should be able to Google the founder of any firm you’re considering and find a real track record. Previous companies, industry roles, a verifiable professional history.
A founder with a background in regulated financial services - brings a fundamentally different operational understanding than someone who built a prop firm with 0 financial background. They understand compliance requirements, capital management, trader support infrastructure, and what it actually costs to run a funded trading operation at scale.
Anonymous ownership in this industry is a serious red flag. If you can’t find out who’s running the company, that’s not an accident.
The jurisdiction:
Where is the firm registered - and what does that mean?
A company registered in a regulated European jurisdiction operates under real legal frameworks. That’s meaningfully different from a firm incorporated in a jurisdiction chosen specifically for minimal regulatory exposure.
This doesn’t guarantee anything. But it creates accountability structures that protect you when something goes wrong.
Transparency as a signal:
Finally - how does the firm communicate? Do you see real faces in their content? When rules change, do they explain why? When something goes wrong, do they acknowledge it publicly?
Transparency is hard to sustain over four years of operation. A firm that’s been consistently open since its founding has built honesty into its culture - that matters.
The prop trading industry has matured.
The shake-out of 2024–2025 accelerated that process, and the firms that survived are the ones that built real foundations.
Before you fund your next challenge, run these five checks:
Years in operation - 3 years minimum. 4+ years preferred.
Rewards distributed Real numbers. Publicly verifiable. Scale matters.
Real success stories - Names, faces, authentic community. Not staged testimonials.
Founders + jurisdiction - Verifiable backgrounds. Regulated markets. Transparent communication.
The Trading Pit has been operating since 2021 - four years in a market that’s seen dozens of competitors come and go. To date, TTP has distributed over $16M in rewards to funded traders across 180+ countries, is registered in Liechtenstein under regulated fintech infrastructure, and is backed by TTP Markets, its brokerage arm.
The firms worth your time clear every one of these bars.
Choose accordingly.
Watch the full video below:
