FTMO

FTMO has earned its reputation as the gold standard of proprietary trading firms, and after evaluating hundreds of prop firms, we can confirm this status remains well-deserved in 2026.

Company Background Founded in 2015 by a team of traders in Prague, FTMO pioneered the modern prop firm challenge model. Unlike fly-by-night operations that have plagued the industry, FTMO has over a decade of consistent payouts under their belt. Their office in Prague is a real operation with over 100 employees, and they're transparent about their business model. FTMO's daily payouts exceeded $300,000 by 2024, with annual totals in the hundreds of millions.

Major 2025–2026 Developments

1. OANDA Acquisition (Late 2025): FTMO completed the acquisition of the regulated broker OANDA, bringing institutional-grade execution in-house and enabling their return to the US market in August 2025 — a market they had exited in 2024 due to regulatory concerns.

2. $625M Institutional Backing (Nov 2025): FTMO secured a massive $625 million lending facility with a bank consortium led by UniCredit. This is unprecedented for a prop firm and signals serious institutional credibility.

3. 1-Step Challenge (Feb 2026): A new 1-Step evaluation path was introduced for experienced traders who want a faster route to funding, alongside the classic 2-Step.

Evaluation Options

2-Step Challenge (Standard):

• Phase 1: 10% profit target
• Phase 2: 5% profit target
• Max Daily Loss: 5% | Max Total Loss: 10%
• No time limit | Min 4 trading days
• Fee 100% refundable on first payout

1-Step Challenge (New):

• A faster, more direct evaluation for experienced traders
• Tailored targets and same risk management standards

Scaling Plan Traders can increase their profit split to 90% and grow their account balance by 25% every four months through the Scaling Plan. Maximum allocation: $400K (Standard), $600K (Prime), $1M (Supreme Prime), scaling up to $2,000,000 total.

What Sets FTMO Apart The execution quality is noticeably better than most competitors — now even more so with OANDA's institutional infrastructure. During our testing, we experienced average slippage of just 0.3 pips during London/NY overlap. Their proprietary Account MetriX dashboard provides detailed analytics including equity curves, trade journals, and risk metrics that help traders identify weaknesses.

Payout Process Payouts are available on-demand after 14 calendar days from first trade on funded account. Processing typically takes 1-2 business days. The profit split starts at 80% and scales to 90% through the Scaling Plan.

The Verdict FTMO isn't the cheapest option, but it's arguably the safest. With the OANDA acquisition, $625M institutional backing, and over a decade of proven payouts, FTMO is the most institutionally credible prop firm in existence. If you're a disciplined trader who values reliability and legitimacy, FTMO should be at the top of your list.