Daily Crypto Briefs 
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 12, 2026
Kraken has added an S&P 500-priced perpetual to its Kraken Prop funded-trading program, giving evaluation customers access to a second equity-index market with up to 5x leverage and simulated wallets as large as $200,000.
The Aug. 12 rollout puts the S&P 500 alongside the Nasdaq 100 in Kraken Prop. Kraken said the instrument is priced from an index oracle rather than being a standardized futures contract, so it is not an S&P 500 fund, an exchange-traded fund or direct ownership of the companies in the benchmark.
The entry cost starts at $20, the company said, with Starter, Intermediate and Advanced evaluations available in $5,000 to $200,000 wallet sizes. Kraken’s product page lists a 3% maximum daily loss, up to 5x leverage and profit shares of 80% to 90% for the program, subject to the particular plan’s rules.
Bitcoin traded at about $63,372 when Daily Crypto Briefs checked Kraken market data, down 0.1% over 24 hours. Kraken showed a $63,200 to $64,329 Bitcoin range and about $21.8 billion in 24-hour volume, while the exchange’s new equity-index offering does not require a customer to buy or hold Bitcoin.
In its announcement, Kraken said, “The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 are the first two markets in a broader multi-asset build-out for Kraken Prop, with commodities next on the roadmap.” The company did not give a date for commodities or identify the benchmarks it intends to add.
The change follows Kraken’s broader effort to add non-spot trading products. Daily Crypto Briefs reported this week that Kraken raised its BTC/USD margin ceiling to 20x, but that is an exchange margin feature for eligible users, not a Kraken Prop evaluation or an equity-index product.
Bitcoin
BTCKraken Prop Adds an S&P 500-Priced Perpetual
Kraken said customers can find the new market by searching “SP” in the Kraken Prop application. The index tracks the same 500 large-cap U.S. companies measured by the S&P 500 benchmark, but Kraken’s perpetual structure has no expiry date, no scheduled rollover and no forced Friday close, according to the company.
That description sets a firm boundary around the headline. An investor does not acquire an S&P 500 index fund through the evaluation, and the company does not describe the market as a listed futures contract. A trader instead submits signals in a simulated funded-account program against a perpetual price derived from an index oracle.
Kraken said evaluation plans have no consistency rules or time limits, but they retain loss controls. The company’s program page says a participant buys an evaluation, aims for a profit target and must remain within set loss limits before qualifying for a funded wallet.
The product is also distinct from the exchange’s regulated derivatives business. Kraken began offering CFTC-regulated crypto perpetual futures to eligible U.S. clients in June through Bitnomial. The S&P 500 evaluation is instead offered through Payward Oceanic Ltd. as an unregulated service, Kraken says in its disclosure.
The $20 Evaluation Does Not Create Immediate Funding
The company describes the price of entry as beginning at $20, not as a deposit into a live $200,000 account. Its public rules say customers first purchase an evaluation, and a funded wallet becomes available only after a customer reaches the plan’s target while observing its drawdown restrictions.
That distinction is material in a prop-trading market where a large notional figure can be mistaken for cash handed to a trader. Kraken says its evaluation fees become non-refundable once trading begins and warns that most applicants do not pass on their first attempt. It also says there is no guarantee a person’s performance will improve or that they will qualify in a future evaluation.
For a qualifying customer, Kraken says the program can provide up to $200,000 in buying power and allow withdrawals of a share of gains to a Kraken account. The company lists an 80% to 90% potential profit share, but it did not disclose how many S&P 500 evaluation customers it expects, the initial volume in the market or the number of users that have received a funded wallet.
The 5x ceiling is lower than the 20x maximum Kraken recently announced for eligible BTC/USD spot-margin users, but the comparisons do not establish which product is less risky for a particular person. Margin trading, perpetual pricing, maximum drawdown rules and simulated-prop evaluations have different mechanics and eligibility conditions.
Commodities Are the Next Stated Expansion
Kraken characterized the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 as the first two products in a multi-asset expansion and named commodities as the next category. It did not identify contracts, price sources, launch dates, country availability or whether additional equity benchmarks will be offered.
The move brings a mainstream equity-index reference into a crypto exchange’s funded-trader experience, where the principal value proposition is access to a program rather than a token or a share. It also arrives as exchanges compete to assemble spot, derivatives and tokenized-market tools under one brand. Kraken’s separate xStocks collateral feature shows how the company has pursued that mix through another product line, with different ownership and availability terms.
Broader crypto sentiment remained cautious. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index read 27, or Fear, on Aug. 12. The measure does not track demand for Kraken Prop or the S&P 500 market, but provides the market setting for a new leveraged-trading option.
Fear & Greed Index
Aug. 12, 2026The next evidence to watch is whether Kraken publishes product-specific participation data, names the planned commodities or expands availability. The confirmed change is narrower: Kraken Prop now offers an S&P 500-priced perpetual evaluation with up to 5x leverage and simulated wallets capped at $200,000, not a direct S&P 500 security or a broadly regulated futures launch.
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Primary sources and further reading
| Source | Title |
|---|---|
| | Kraken: Trade the S&P 500 with our money using Kraken Prop |
| | Kraken Prop: funded trading program terms and availability |
| | S&P Dow Jones Indices: S&P 500 index |
| | Kraken: Bitcoin price and market data |
| | Alternative.me: Crypto Fear and Greed Index |
Fact-checked by: Daily Crypto Briefs Fact-Check Desk
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Frequently Asked Questions
What did Kraken add to Kraken Prop?
Kraken added an S&P 500-priced perpetual to Kraken Prop, its funded-trading evaluation program. The exchange said Nasdaq 100 was already available and that commodities are planned next.
Is Kraken Prop's S&P 500 product an S&P 500 ETF or futures contract?
No. Kraken said the product is not a standardized futures contract. It is a perpetual whose price is supplied through an index oracle tracking the same 500 large-cap U.S. companies as the S&P 500 benchmark.
What are Kraken Prop's S&P 500 leverage and wallet limits?
Kraken said S&P 500 evaluations have up to 5x leverage, an entry price from 20 dollars and simulated wallet sizes from 5,000 dollars to 200,000 dollars.
Does Kraken Prop give a trader real capital immediately?
No. A customer first buys an evaluation and must meet its profit target while staying inside the loss limits. Kraken says a trader who passes can receive a funded wallet, while the evaluation fee is non-refundable once trading begins.