Online trading is a risky venture—if not done correctly, you risk denting your capital. This is why a lot of experienced traders go to a proprietary trading firm, allowing them to participate in the financial markets using the firm’s own money.
Smart Pop Trader was a prop trading firm founded by Blake Olson—a young entrepreneur and a former member of Forbes Councils.
It featured relatively easier challenges, access to leading trading platforms, no minimum trading days requirement, and up to 95% profit split for its traders. A profitable combination for traders.
However, 2024 changed the landscape for the Smart Pop Trader firm, as the company announced its closure at the end of the year.
In this TRU Insight, we’ll look at what happened to Smart Prop Trader that led to the service closure. Read on for a review of its platform features and its exit plan for its existing clients.
What Is Proprietary Trading?
Proprietary trading happens when financial firms or commercial banks directly expose their capital to the financial markets. It’s a corporate investment strategy that goes beyond the usual of online brokers, which profit from their clients’ commission or trading fee.
While this strategy benefits the firm, it ultimately provides value to traders. After all, the firm technically funds the traders’ trading activities.
Read More: Choosing the Best Proprietary Trading Firms in South Africa – 2025 Update
So, prop trading is a win-win situation for the traders and the firm alike:
The trader got to trade without risking their money,
And the firm gets a share of the trader’s profits.
Now, let’s look deeper into Smart Prop Trader, a prop trading firm that announced its closure on the 19th of December, 2024.
Overview of Smart Prop Trader
Founded in 2022 by Blake Olson, Smart Prop Trader was an Austin-based prop trading firm. Olson is an esteemed young entrepreneur who has joined a group of vetted professionals called Forbes Council.
It uses the brokerage service of Eightcap—a company regulated by the Australian Securities and Instruments Commission (ASIC).
This leading brokerage integration allows the funded traders of Smart Prop Trader to access multiple competitive trading platforms like MetaTrader platforms (MT4 vs. MT5), cTrader, DXtrade, and Match-Trader. Additionally, traders can trade currency pairs (forex), commodities, indices, and cryptocurrencies.
Let’s zoom into the actual prop trading features and benefits offered by Smart Prop Trader.
Profit Splits
One notable feature of Smart Prop Trader is its generous and competitive profit split between the firm and the funded trader.
This prop trading firm provides an opportunity for its funded traders to get up to a 95% profit split. But like any prop trading firm, the trader must meet the trading conditions and target profit (varies depending on the account type) to be eligible for their profit share.
Many users reported the ease of withdrawing their money from their funded account. The firm provides flexible payout options to allow its traders to withdraw at their convenience.
Account Size
Staying true to its promise, Smart Prop Trader offers five funded account types, ranging from USD 10,000 to USD 200,000. A trader must deposit USD 67 to USD 867 to access the offered accounts.
| Smart Prop Trader Minimum Deposit | Smart Prop Trader Funded Account |
|---|---|
| USD 67 account | USD 10,000 |
| USD 167 account | USD 25,000 |
| USD 267 account | USD 50,000 |
| USD 467 account | USD 100,000 |
| USD 867 account | USD 200,000 |
Smart Prop Trader knows professional and expert traders need bigger account sizes to make the most of the financial markets. Thus, the prop trading firm allows its funded traders to scale their account sizes with its competitive scaling plans.
Scaling Plans
Smart Prop Traders’ scaling feature is an innovation that allows its clients to access a bigger account size to boost market exposure. This plan ultimately increases account balance by 25% and profit split from 90% (a 5% bump from the basic plan).
However, this plan option is not available to everyone. Only those who earned a minimum profit of 2% for three consecutive months are eligible to scale their funded account size.
With the scaling plan, the prop trading firm allows funded traders to access a maximum funded account of USD 2,500,000.
Prop Trading Phases
Smart Prop Trader’s CEO, Olson, stated that the firm gives the “best chance possible to pass the evaluation process” to all interested funded traders. This feature reflects the firm’s commitment to democratizing access to financial markets.
The prop trading firm imposed two phases to fund the interested traders.
1. Challenge Phase
At Smart Prop Trader, the first phase of the eligibility evaluation involves trading challenges. It assesses the capability of traders to profit while staying at a sustainable loss limit.
To pass this challenge phase, the trader should achieve a 7% target profit without hitting a 4% maximum daily loss and 8% overall loss limit.
These conditions may be difficult for most traders. However, the firm didn’t impose time limits to accomplish this phase. The applicant can finish the challenge without the minimum trading day requirement.
2. Verification Phase
Once the trader passes the first phase, they proceed to the verification phase.
It follows almost the same rules as the first phase—hitting the target profit while ensuring an optimal loss limit (4% daily and 8% overall). However, the target profit requirement drops to 5% instead of the initial 7%.
This phase also comes with no minimum trading day requirement for traders.
Funded Trading Conditions
Again, this prop firm imposed funded trading conditions relatively easier than the typical competitor.
Here are the Smart Prop Trader conditions for interested firm-funded traders:
| Requirement | Challenge Phase | Verification Phase | Funded Trading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Target Profit | 7% | 5% | 5% |
| Daily Loss Limit | 4% | 4% | 4% |
| Overall Loss Limit | 8% | 8% | 8% |
| Minimum Trading Day | No requirement | No requirement | |
| Withdrawal Eligibility | N/A | N/A | 14-day market post-first funded trade |
| Payout Withdrawal | N/A | N/A | Instant |
Smart Prop Trader Stopped Accepting Clients
Despite its successful market penetration, Smart Prop Trader announced on December 19,2024 that it would stop accepting new clients in preparation for company closure.
No controversy was linked to this corporate decision—no scams, liquidity collapse, or regulatory sanctions.
Instead, this closure followed the natural occurrence in the fast-paced proprietary trading market. Over 80 prop trading firms ceased investment operations for several reasons, including the inevitable volatility and evolving regulatory landscapes.
Interestingly, the company closure left a positive mark on the sector. The firm reaffirmed the call for innovative solutions and strategic pivots that have the potential to reshape the trading industry.
Led by Olson, Smart Prop Trader launched a comprehensive exit plan for its funded traders before the official company closure.
Smart Pop Trader Exit Plan for Its Users
The company planned to cease its investment operation by the end of the year. With the closure announcement on the 19th of December 2024, users are allowed to withdraw their payouts from the 19th of December to the 31st of the year.
Continued Trading
Despite closing its door to new traders, the company still allowed all its existing funded traders to continue managing their accounts until the 29th of December, 2024.
This exit plan was for traders to grow their earnings further or to meet the required profit target for withdrawal.
Refunds
Full refunds will be settled for all funded traders who are at break-even or profitable in November 2024.
Post-Closure Plans
For funded traders who are in a good standing after the 29th of December wind down, a separate resolution plan shall be placed to honor their payouts.
You Should Choose a Sustainable Prop Trading Firm
The closure of Smart Prop Trader, together with the other 50 firms, was a stark reminder of the fast-paced prop firm trading market. While the cease of operation was dubbed a positive step toward a better trading scene, it still cost missed opportunities for traders.
When choosing a prop trading firm to showcase your trading prowess, look for its means to maintain a sustainable financial operation.
