A 12-year-old offshore forex and CFD broker has officially entered the prop trading world. Firewood, operating through its St. Vincent and the Grenadines-registered entity Firewood Global Ltd, has launched Firewood Funded — a challenge-based funded trader program that gives retail and professional traders access to firm capital through evaluation. The launch makes Firewood the latest in a growing wave of established retail brokers pivoting into the prop trading model, a category that barely existed in its current form just two years ago.
What Firewood Funded Offers Traders
Firewood Funded operates on two evaluation tracks: a one-step and a two-step challenge format. Traders who pass the evaluation earn access to funded capital along with an 80% profit share — meaning 80 cents of every dollar of profit goes to the trader. The firm says the program is designed to remove the capital barrier for retail and professional traders who want to trade larger size without putting significant personal funds at risk.
The 80/20 profit split sits at the lower end of what the industry currently offers. Many established prop firms now offer splits in the 85–90% range, and some have pushed as high as 95% for top-tier or upgraded accounts. For Firewood Funded to be competitive in a crowded market, it will likely need to either tighten its pricing on challenges or improve its split terms over time.
A 12-Year Broker Enters a Category That Barely Existed Two Years Ago
Firewood has been operating as a forex and CFD broker for over a decade. Its legal entity — Firewood Global Ltd, registration number 22160 BC 2014 — is incorporated in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, a common offshore jurisdiction for retail brokers. It’s worth noting that SVG’s Financial Services Authority does not issue brokerage licenses for forex or CFD activity, meaning Firewood, like many offshore brokers, operates without a local trading license in its domicile jurisdiction.
The broker-to-prop space was effectively opened by Axi in early 2024, when the Australian-regulated CFD broker became one of the first major retail platforms to bolt a structured prop trading program onto its existing business. That decision proved to be a template others would follow rapidly. Within months, OANDA launched OANDA Labs Trader, Hantec Markets introduced Hantec Trader, and IC Markets rolled out IC Funded. Each firm brought with it existing technology, compliance infrastructure, and a base of retail traders who were natural candidates for funded challenges.
The Broker-to-Prop Pipeline Keeps Growing
Since Axi’s early move, the number of CFD prop firms operated by established brokers has expanded significantly. ThinkMarkets, ATFX, MarketsVox (through its MFunded brand), Taurex (via the Atmos platform), and KudoTrade have all followed suit. The common logic: brokers already have MT4/MT5 infrastructure, risk management teams, and client acquisition machinery — prop trading leverages all of it with minimal incremental cost.
The traffic has also run in the other direction. Czech firm FTMO, one of the original prop trading giants, completed its acquisition of OANDA in 2024 — taking it from the prop world into full brokerage operations. FundedNext launched FNmarkets as its own brokerage arm under a Comoros license, while pursuing further regulatory approvals in Mauritius and Dubai. The lines between broker and prop firm are blurring in both directions.
For traders evaluating their options, this convergence raises important questions about counterparty risk, regulatory transparency, and the real economics behind evaluation programs. Understanding the differences between independent prop firms and broker-backed programs is increasingly important for anyone considering a prop trading challenge.
What This Means for the Broader Prop Industry
Firewood Funded’s entry reinforces a broader structural shift in how prop trading is being delivered to retail traders. When Axi made the broker-to-prop move in early 2024, it was a novelty. In 2026, it has become a standard playbook — and the bar for differentiation keeps rising.
For traders, the proliferation of broker-backed prop programs brings choice, but also complexity. Not all programs are equivalent. The regulatory status of the underlying broker, the payout track record, and the actual terms embedded in challenge agreements vary considerably. A new entrant like Firewood Funded — with a solid operational track record as a broker but limited reputation in the prop space — will need to establish credibility through transparent payouts and consistent execution before capturing meaningful market share.
More broadly, the ongoing influx of broker-backed entrants raises the competitive pressure on independent prop firms that built the category from scratch. Firms that compete purely on challenge terms will find it increasingly difficult to stand out as brokers leverage scale and existing infrastructure. The competitive advantage for legacy prop firms increasingly lies in community, trader support, and payout track record — elements that no broker acquisition can instantly replicate.
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Source: Finance Magnates
