These prop firms are excluded from our directories — because they collapsed, changed rules after traders paid, sat on payouts, or borrowed a trusted brand’s name. We document why instead of quietly dropping them, because a list that only shows survivors hides the most useful information you have before risking an evaluation fee. 17 firms are flagged as of June 2026.
Payout fraud or withheld funds
Took evaluation fees or showed approved profits, then froze, denied, or never paid withdrawals.
My Crypto Funding
Multiple traders have publicly reported payouts marked approved but never paid since late 2025, with claimed balances from roughly $1,400 to $8,900+. Trustpilot’s moderation has also removed fake positive reviews from the firm’s profile. Approved-payout complaints combined with documented fake-review removal is the governance pattern that preceded other crypto prop collapses. No pricing advantage offsets an account that may not pay out.
Fidelcrest
Flagged in 2025 for retroactively changing rules and withholding payouts without giving traders a route to dispute or appeal. Excluded from recommendations.
The Funded Trader (TFT)
The Funded Trader (Easton Consulting Technologies, CEO Angelo Ciaramello) paused all operations in March 2024 after a wave of payout-denial complaints, freezing roughly $2M in withdrawals during early 2024 while publicly dismissing the criticism. It has since relaunched, but as of 2026 was still clearing an outstanding backlog — reporting only partial completion of payouts and accounts owed, with hundreds of traders still waiting. A firm that froze legitimate profits once and hasn’t fully closed the resulting debt isn’t recommendable until the backlog is settled and a clean post-relaunch payout record exists. Note: this is distinct from My Forex Funds, the separate firm whose CFTC case was dismissed with sanctions.
MyForexFunds (MFF)
MyForexFunds was shut down in 2023 amid CFTC/CSA action and froze trader payouts for roughly two years. The regulatory case was later dismissed and the firm has signaled a comeback, but the multi-year freeze of trader funds was real. Listed here for historical clarity and because the name is frequently confused with the (separate, operating) MyFundedFutures.
Impersonation & brand-borrowing
Cloned a trusted brand, or borrowed an unrelated company’s history and payout numbers to look established.
Velotrade
The velotrade.com crypto prop division launched in early 2026 with no verified prop payout history, while its marketing leans on a ‘founded 2016’ date and a multi-billion-dollar payout figure that belong to an unrelated Hong Kong invoice-factoring business of a similar name. Borrowing a legacy entity’s statistics to imply prop-firm stability is a governance red flag, and a brand-new crypto firm can’t be vetted to the standard of established listings. Candidate for re-evaluation once it has an independent, audited live-payout record.
FundedFirm
Exposed in February 2026 for publishing roughly $85 million in fabricated trader-payout figures on a website built as a near pixel-for-pixel clone of FundedNext. No verifiable legal registration. This is an impersonation operation — not affiliated with the legitimate FundedNext.
Collapsed, leaving traders short
Shut down while still holding trader funds, honoring only partial refunds, or after changing rules on paying traders.
FundingTicks
FundingTicks retroactively changed rules in December 2025, breached traders holding legitimate profits, and shut down on January 18, 2026 with only partial refunds. Traders who purchased evaluations under the original ruleset were not made whole. Listed here as a warning because evaluations and ‘accounts’ may still circulate via resellers — do not buy. Same CEO (Khaled Ayesh) as Funding Pips, also on this list.
Skilled Funded Trader
Closed during the 2024–2025 wave of prop firm shutdowns, leaving unresolved trader funds. Do not purchase.
True Forex Funds
True Forex Funds shut down in 2024 in the wave of closures that followed MetaQuotes’ crackdown on unlicensed MetaTrader access for U.S. retail clients. Documented trader losses run to roughly $1.2M across about 300 traders. Listed as a historical warning: the firm is defunct — do not purchase evaluations or ‘accounts’ through resellers.
Ceased operating
No longer running or accepting traders. No major fraud alleged — but no recourse either, and resold evaluations may still circulate.
ATFunded (ATFX)
ATFunded, the prop unit of CFD broker ATFX, suspended operations in June 2026 for a ‘full review of the business,’ less than two years after launching in October 2024. Its CEO departed earlier in 2026 within months of joining, and the parent has been converting prop traders into brokerage customers. A suspended program with leadership churn is uninvestable until it resumes with clear terms and an intact payout pipeline. Candidate for re-evaluation if operations restart on stable footing.
Seacrest Funding (formerly MyFundedFX)
Seacrest Funding — the rebrand of the well-known MyFundedFX — closed its entire prop trading division on February 6, 2026 and pivoted to a pure CFD brokerage. Funded traders were directed to request final payouts and challenge buyers to request refunds. Listed as a warning because the MyFundedFX brand and resold ‘accounts’ may still circulate — do not purchase. Note: this is the forex firm MyFundedFX, not MyFundedFutures (MFFU), the trusted, active futures firm in this directory, which is unrelated.
SurgeTrader
SurgeTrader, the Florida-based prop firm launched in 2021, ceased all operations in 2024 after its platform provider Match-Trade revoked its license — first halting new evaluations, then winding the business down entirely. Listed as a historical warning: it does not offer funded accounts, and any resold ‘access’ should be treated as invalid.
Funded Engineer
Ceased operations. Listed as a warning because evaluations may still circulate via resellers — do not buy.
Can’t be verified
Still operating, but the data needed to trust them can’t be confirmed — manipulated reviews, sub-par ratings, or ownership tied to a failed firm. Not proof of misconduct.
Funding Pips
Shares ownership (CEO Khaled Ayesh) with FundingTicks, which retroactively changed rules in Dec 2025 and shut down in Jan 2026 with only partial refunds. Funding Pips itself still operates with strong Trustpilot metrics, but the sister-firm collapse with unpaid balances is a governance red flag. Verify the corporate structure independently before funding.
Goat Funded Trader
Trustpilot suspended the firm’s rating in 2025–2026 for suspected review manipulation. That isn’t proof of payout misconduct — the firm continues to operate — but when independent review data can’t be verified, the firm can’t be vetted to the same standard as listed firms. Candidate for re-inclusion if the rating is reinstated.
AquaFutures
Launched late 2024 and currently sits around 3.1/5 on Trustpilot — below the floor for a recommendation — with multiple reviews citing payout delays and rule-enforcement complaints. May warrant inclusion in a future quarter if the rating stabilizes and the trader base grows.
Closed responsibly
Wound down cleanly — refunds issued, closure handled as a managed event. Listed only because it’s no longer available.
Smart Prop Trader
No longer operating. Unlike most closures, Smart Prop Trader is widely cited as the industry’s example of a responsible wind-down: it issued refunds and treated closure as a managed event. Listed here as closed, not as a scam — but it is no longer available to trade.
Where to look instead
For firms that clear the bar — 12+ months operating, a verifiable trader base, no non-payment cluster, and rule stability — start with the market directories, compare real costs on the Prop Firm True Cost hub, or run two firms head-to-head in the comparison tool.
Common questions
How do you decide a firm gets flagged?
Does flagged mean the firm is definitely a scam?
A firm I use isn't listed here or in the directories — what does that mean?
Editorial list, not legal advice. Reasons reflect publicly reported events and our own tracking as of June 2026; firm circumstances can change. Verify current status with the firm before acting.
