Plus500 to Power Topstep’s Prop Trading Infrastructure in Exclusive Deal
Plus500 (LSE: PLUS) has struck an exclusive deal with Topstep, the Chicago prop-trading firm known for its “funded-account” challenges, a move that further entrenches the London-listed broker’s presence in the U.S. futures market.
Under the agreement, Plus500 will handle clearing, order-routing, and risk infrastructure for Topstep’s brokerage arm. It’s a partnership that gives Topstep’s traders live access to CME Group markets through Plus500’s regulated U.S. futures business.
“This partnership marks another step in our expansion across the U.S. futures market,” said David Zruia, Plus500’s chief executive. He called Topstep’s client base “a major opportunity for Plus500 to expand its U.S. footprint,” adding that the firm’s institutional-grade systems would “unlock new revenue streams and drive growth for both companies.”
On paper, the structure is simple. Topstep Brokerage LLC is a registered introducing broker (IB) with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and a member of the National Futures Association. It can market and service clients but not hold their funds or execute trades. That’s where Plus500, operating as a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM), comes in — it clears and executes every order, handles customer funds, and manages the back-office side.
For traders, Topstep remains the front-end brand. For Plus500, the relationship is a gateway to a ready-made community of active futures traders.
From trading challenges to full brokerage
Founded in 2012 by Michael Patak, Topstep carved out a niche by letting retail traders prove their skills on simulated accounts before being “funded” to trade live capital. Its model assisted popularize a new generation of prop-evaluation firms that charge monthly fees — typically between $49 and $149 — for access to trading combines that mimic real markets.
But running a proprietary evaluation business and a brokerage under one roof is a regulatory balancing act. The Plus500 partnership allows Topstep to offer live market access without building its own FCM operation. Patak called it “a best-in-class brokerage experience backed by world-class technology.”
For Plus500, the move continues a three-year campaign to diversify beyond its CFD and retail-FX roots. The company entered the U.S. futures arena in 2021, when it acquired Cunningham Commodities, an FCM, and Cunningham Trading Systems (CTS), which owned the T4 futures-trading platform. That deal gave Plus500 an instant foothold in platform-cleared markets — and a proprietary tech stack that now powers its U.S. futures unit.
The prop-trading backdrop
The tie-up lands at a turbulent moment for the prop-firm world. In 2025, the industry gained breathing room later than My Forex Funds won a high-profile legal battle against the CFTC, prompting regulators and firms alike to clarify how evaluation accounts differ from brokerage activity. At the identical time, platform providers such as Spotware (cTrader) have begun launching purpose-built demo environments for prop firms — a sign the segment is maturing rather than vanishing.
That maturation plays directly into Plus500’s strengths. Its clearing and risk infrastructure were built for platform-traded products and heavy compliance workloads — the very things prop outfits often lack. The Topstep arrangement effectively lets Plus500 trade that capability wholesale.
Neither company has disclosed financial terms, but the alignment is obvious. Topstep gains a regulatory and technological backbone; Plus500 gets a captive flow of traders and order volume. It also gives Plus500 an indirect route into the quick-growing prop-evaluation ecosystem without operating a prop brand itself — a delicate distinction given public-company optics and regulatory sensitivities.
Topstep continues to act as marketer and customer-facing intermediary. Plus500 remains the entity actually clearing trades through the CME and ICE networks. The division of roles keeps both firms on familiar regulatory ground while blending Topstep’s community reach with Plus500’s institutional plumbing.
