Kraken has launched S&P 500 perpetual contracts on Kraken Prop, its funded proprietary trading product, according to a post on the company's blog. The exchange plans to add commodities to the platform next, though no timeline or specific assets have been named.
Kraken Prop allows traders to trade with capital provided by the exchange rather than their own funds, taking a split of profits on winning trades. The addition of equity index perpetuals expands the product beyond crypto and into traditional finance markets. Commodities would further diversify the asset classes available on the funded trading tier.
Kraken has positioned Prop as a competitor to other prop trading platforms that cater to active traders seeking capital without posting initial margin. The S&P 500 perpetual contract lets traders take long or short positions on the U.S. equity index benchmark without owning the underlying stocks. Perpetuals differ from traditional futures in that they use a funding rate mechanism to keep the contract price anchored to the spot price, rather than settling on a fixed date.
Platforms including Bybit and Binance have added stock index perpetuals and spot trading in certain jurisdictions over the past two years, seeking to capture traders who want multi-asset exposure in a single account.
Kraken's announcement does not specify the capital multiplier offered on S&P 500 trades, the fee structure, or which geographies can access the product. The company also did not disclose adoption metrics for Kraken Prop since its launch or expected timeline for the commodities rollout.
The number of active prop traders on Kraken Prop and the trading volume on the S&P 500 contract will determine whether the move materially expands the platform's user base. If commodities launch within six months and attract trading volume comparable to the index perpetual, Kraken will have demonstrated that funded trading extends beyond crypto to a broader trader audience.
