The landscape of proprietary trading is undergoing a significant transformation as digital asset exchanges continue to bridge the gap between traditional financial instruments and alternative trading environments. Effective October 29, 2026, Kraken Prop—a prominent arm of the global digital asset ecosystem operated by Payward Oceanic Ltd—has officially launched a major expansion into global commodity markets. Spearheaded by the introduction of gold, the platform now accommodates six core commodity markets, complemented by a substantial structural reduction in transaction fees across all non-cryptocurrency assets. This strategic development marks a notable milestone for retail and semi-professional speculators who have historically faced capital constraints when attempting to monetize their macroeconomic analyses in traditional futures and commodities sectors.
Background Context of the Expansion
For years, market participants specializing in precious metals and global energy assets have been constrained by the strict capital requirements and operational limitations imposed by traditional brokerages and conventional futures prop firms. Traditional exchanges operate under rigid session-based timeframes, forcing traders to close positions ahead of weekend market closures and exposing them to overnight gap risks when trading resumes. Furthermore, accessing meaningful leverage in commodities typically required substantial personal bankrolls or cumbersome futures brokerage accounts.
Kraken Prop’s entry into the commodities sector is designed to democratize access to these vital global markets. By utilizing simulated trading environments backed by real financial payouts, the platform allows individuals to leverage their analytical insights without exposing themselves to the direct underlying debt or capital risks associated with holding physical or heavily margined futures contracts. Instead, participants supply trade signals within a controlled simulation, with performance directly dictating financial rewards. This model reflects a broader industry trend toward evaluation-based proprietary trading, where demonstrated risk management and strategy discipline supersede personal net worth.
Comprehensive Chronology and Market Rollout
The rollout of the new asset classes represents months of infrastructure development and market demand analysis. Gold, consistently identified by users as the most heavily requested addition to the platform, leads the launch lineup. Alongside gold, Kraken Prop has integrated silver, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil, Brent crude oil, copper, and natural gas.
Unlike traditional commodity exchanges that shutter their order books over the weekend, Kraken Prop’s new commodity offerings operate on a continuous 24/7 basis, priced via advanced index oracles. This uninterrupted trading capability allows participants to maintain positions through weekend geopolitical developments or macroeconomic shifts—a feature previously unavailable in standard exchange-cleared commodity prop firms.
The geographical availability of these six new markets spans all jurisdictions where Kraken Prop currently operates, with one notable exception: the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Existing users holding active evaluations or fully funded accounts gained immediate access to the new commodities without needing to purchase new packages or re-qualify, ensuring a seamless transition into the expanded asset suite.
Leverage Framework and Notional Capital Caps
To maintain structural integrity and promote disciplined risk management, Kraken Prop has instituted a clear framework of leverage limits and notional caps tailored to each specific commodity market. A notional cap represents the maximum allowable size for a simulated position within a given market, functioning independently of the overall size of a trader’s funded account.
For accounts operating on standard tiers (excluding Lite plans), the parameters are structured to accommodate varying volatility profiles across metals and energy:
- Precious metals, particularly gold and silver, feature specialized leverage allocations designed to handle intraday price fluctuations while capping maximum exposure.
- Energy contracts, including WTI crude, Brent crude, and natural gas, carry distinct notional caps that reflect their unique liquidity and supply-demand dynamics.
- Industrial metals such as copper operate under dedicated risk parameters to prevent excessive concentration in single-commodity exposures.
For traders utilizing the Lite plan tier, all six commodity markets remain fully accessible at leverage ratios up to 20x. Crucially, Lite plan participants retain their existing commission structures without negative adjustments, ensuring that entry-level participants are not priced out of the new offerings. Company representatives have noted that these risk thresholds and operational caps remain under continuous review by risk management teams and are subject to future adjustments based on market volatility and systemic liquidity conditions.
Halving Commissions on Non-Crypto Instruments
Simultaneously with the introduction of commodities, Kraken Prop implemented a permanent 50 percent reduction in commission rates for every non-cryptocurrency market on its standard and advanced plans. Effective immediately, the commission rate has been slashed from 4 basis points (4bps) per side down to 2 basis points (2bps) per side.
This adjustment translates to a transaction cost of precisely 0.02 percent of the notional value each time a position is opened or closed. To contextualize the financial impact for active traders: executing a simulated position with a notional value of $100,000 previously incurred a fee of $40 to open and $40 to close, resulting in a total round-trip cost of $80. Under the new 2bps fee schedule, the opening fee drops to $20 and the closing fee drops to $20, lowering the total round-trip cost to $40.
Importantly, this fee reduction is not limited to the newly added commodities. It extends universally across all non-crypto assets offered by the platform, including major equity index markets such as the S&P 500 and the XYZ100. Cryptocurrency trading pairs maintain their preexisting fee schedules, as digital assets operate under a different liquidity and operational cost structure. By cutting non-crypto commissions in half, Kraken Prop enhances the net profitability of algorithmic and high-frequency strategies that rely on tight profit margins.
Operational Guidelines and Evaluation Standards
The integration of industrial commodities and energy contracts does not alter the fundamental operational rulebook governing Kraken Prop. The platform maintains its commitment to transparency by publishing fixed, immutable evaluation rules designed to eliminate moving targets and subjective evaluations.
Traders must continue to adhere to strict maximum drawdown limits, which serve as the primary metric for assessing risk control. The evaluation structure is intentionally rigorous, acting as a filtering mechanism to identify individuals who possess both strategic acumen and emotional resilience under volatile market conditions. Payward Oceanic Ltd has emphasized that the program is structured strictly around signal generation: participants do not hold real-world physical or derivative positions, and all stated position limits are purely simulated.
Industry Implications and Analytical Outlook
Market observers suggest that Kraken Prop’s aggressive push into commodities could pressure legacy proprietary trading firms to reevaluate their fee models and operational hours. The combination of 24/7 continuous trading in traditionally restricted asset classes—such as oil and gold—coupled with halved commission rates presents a compelling value proposition for independent quantitative traders and technical analysts.
However, financial analysts also emphasize the inherent risks associated with unregulated evaluation services. The program is explicitly designed to test risk management skills, and historical data within the proprietary trading sector indicates that the vast majority of applicants fail to pass initial evaluations on their first attempt. Evaluation fees remain strictly non-refundable once trading activity commences, underscoring the necessity for prospective participants to possess proven trading methodologies before committing financial capital to an assessment.
Conclusion and Future Outlook
As Kraken Prop continues to scale its multi-asset infrastructure, the October 2026 commodities launch signals a maturation of the digital-native prop trading model. By successfully fusing the accessibility of modern fintech platforms with the timeless global demand for safe-haven assets and industrial energy commodities, Kraken Prop has established a competitive footprint that extends far beyond the cryptocurrency ecosystem. For skilled traders capable of navigating the complexities of gold, crude oil, and natural gas, the new environment offers expanded horizons—provided they can navigate the strict risk parameters required to secure and maintain a funded account.
