The Ultimate Guide to Launching a Prop Firm in Latin America

Why Latin America Is a Hotspot for Prop Trading

Latin America is no longer a “secondary” market in finance. It’s a region that has embraced digital banking, fintech, and online trading with remarkable speed.

• Financial inclusion has grown rapidly: According to the World Bank Global Findex 2025, 73% of Latin American adults now have access to a financial account, compared to just 39% a decade ago.
  
• Trading culture is expanding: The Bank for International Settlements (BIS)  FX Survey places Brazil among the world’s top 10 foreign-exchange trading hubs, highlighting the depth of local activity.
  

For fintech founders, brokers, and entrepreneurs, launching a prop firm in Latin America is an opportunity to tap into this momentum and build scalable businesses.

Step 1: Understand the Prop Trading Business Model

At its core, a proprietary trading firm (prop firm) is a partnership between capital and talent. The firm provides the funding; traders provide the skill. Profits are shared, and the relationship only works when both sides win.

Unlike traditional brokers, prop firms don’t earn money through spreads, swaps, or commissions on trades. Instead, their business model is centered around performance, evaluation, and scale.

How Prop Firms Generate Revenue

1. Evaluation Fees
   
   • Most firms require traders to prove their abilities through a “challenge” or evaluation process.
     
   • Traders pay a fee to participate, often between $50 and $500 depending on the account size they’re attempting to qualify for.
     
   • This fee offsets firm risk and becomes a consistent revenue stream, even before profit-sharing begins.
     
2. Profit Sharing
   
   • Once traders pass evaluations, they gain access to firm capital.
     
   • Profits are shared, usually with 70–90% going to the trader and the rest retained by the firm.
     
   • This ensures the trader has strong motivation to perform while keeping the firm financially sustainable.
     
3. Scaling Programs
   
   • Successful traders are often rewarded with larger accounts as they prove themselves.
     
   • For example, a trader who starts with a $25,000 funded account might scale to $100,000 or more after hitting performance milestones.
     
   • The larger the accounts, the higher the volume, and the bigger the firm’s potential returns.
     
4. Community & Ancillary Services
   
   • Some firms monetize through educational packages, trading courses, or subscription-based analytics.
     
   • Others create loyalty programs, gamified leaderboards, or competitions to drive engagement (and entry fees).

5. Retention Tools

Leading prop firms enhance trader retention and fairness by offering “Challenge Retry” mechanisms. Leverate launched an industry first “Challenge Keeper” allowing traders to retry failed challenges under fair conditions while protecting the firm’s capital, increasing satisfaction, performance, and monetization opportunities. These retention tools can be a big factor in how successful your firm can be.

Why the Model Works in Latin America

Prop trading has unique appeal in Latin America because of the region’s economic and cultural context:

• Economic volatility: With inflation and currency fluctuations affecting savings, many people see trading as a hedge or an opportunity to outpace inflation.
  
• Limited investment alternatives: Unlike in the U.S. or EU, local capital markets are less developed, so trading forex, crypto, and global indices feels more accessible and potentially more lucrative.
  
• Barriers to personal capital: Many aspiring traders cannot afford to risk significant personal savings. Prop firms lower the barrier by providing access to capital once skill is demonstrated.
  
• Cultural appetite for entrepreneurship: Prop firms align with the regional mindset of side hustles, self-reliance, and independence from traditional employers.

Common Misconceptions About Prop Firms

• “They’re just brokers in disguise.”
  Not true. Brokers earn from spreads and commissions; prop firms make money from trader success and evaluation models.
  
• “It’s all about evaluation fees.”
  While fees help mitigate risk, the most sustainable prop firms build communities of consistently profitable traders.
  
• “Only experts can join.”
  Many prop firms welcome beginners, offering training and educational support. The evaluation system ensures only the disciplined advance to funded accounts.
  

Key Takeaway

Prop firms thrive when they strike the right balance: opportunity for traders (capital access, fair profit splits, growth paths) and strong risk controls for the firm (evaluation stages, drawdown rules, automated monitoring).

In the Latin American context, this balance is even more critical. Traders here are motivated, ambitious, and mobile-first, but they need firms that are transparent, supportive, and structured. Firms that get this right can tap into one of the world’s most eager trader populations.

Step 2: Validate the Market Potential in Latin America

The prop firm opportunity is magnified by LATAM’s unique market dynamics.

Brazil – The Gateway Market

• Largest fintech hub in the region, home to 31% of LATAM fintechs.
  
• Pix, the government-backed instant payment system, processes billions of transfers monthly.
  
• Traders are active across forex, crypto, and equity markets.
  

Mexico – Crypto-Friendly & Young

• Roughly 12% of Mexicans own cryptocurrency (TripleA, 2022).
  
• SPEI enables instant transfers between banks, streamlining trader payouts.
  
• Mexico’s young demographics (median age 29) mean a growing trader base.
  

Colombia – Mobile-First Culture

• Smartphone penetration above 70%.
  
• High interest in online trading communities and social media-driven trading education.
  

Chile – Regulated and Stable

• Strong financial oversight and consumer protection.
  
• Traders are drawn to well-structured, compliant prop firms.
  

Argentina & Peru – Volatile but Promising

• High inflation drives speculative forex and crypto trading.
  
• Entrepreneurs can fill gaps with localized prop models.
  

Opportunity snapshot: LATAM has over 2,300 fintech startups, $7.6 billion in fintech investment (Statista, 2021), and nearly half its population under 30. The demand for trading is only going to rise.

Step 3: Build the Right Technology Stack

Technology is the infrastructure of your prop firm.

Trading platforms

• MetaTrader 5 (MT5) and SiRiX Trading Platform are the global standard, especially for forex.
  
• Many LATAM traders prefer mobile-first platforms, consider hybrid setups with web apps.
  

Risk management

• Automatic shutdowns when drawdown limits are hit.
  
• Scaling rules to allocate more capital to proven traders.
  
• Hedging strategies against volatile LATAM currencies.
  

CRM & onboarding

• Multilingual dashboards (Spanish + Portuguese).
  
• Embedded KYC/AML to meet compliance requirements.
  
• Onboarding flows optimized for mobile.

Client Experience

• Through a successful Prop Dashboard, traders can view their challenge status, track performance analytics, access payout tools, and engage with their trading environment. You can find this with Leverates prop dashboard which is all connected seamlessly to the Broker Portal in real-time.
  

Payments

• Integration with local wallets.
  
• Ability to process payouts instantly, vital for trader trust.
  

Implementation tip: Build modular systems. Start with MT5 + CRM + liquidit,  which you can get with Leverate’s turnkey prop trading solutions, then layer on automation, analytics, and gamification as you scale.

Step 4: Secure Liquidity Access

Liquidity is not optional; it’s essential for execution and trader confidence.

Why it matters:

• Tight spreads keep traders profitable.
  
• Deep liquidity pools support high trading volumes.
  
• Multi-asset liquidity allows firms to diversify offerings.
  

What LATAM traders potentially want access to:

• Forex (especially USD/BRL, USD/MXN).
  
• Indices (S&P 500, IBOVESPA).
  
• Commodities (oil, coffee, gold).
  
• Crypto (Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins).
  

Leverate’s Prime Liquidity advantage:

• Institutional-grade execution.
  
• Access to multiple asset classes, including cryptocurrency liquidity.
  
• Scalable infrastructure designed for volatile markets.

Step 5: Navigate Regulations Smartly

Regulation in LATAM is fragmented but manageable.

Brazil (CVM): Enforces investor protection, requires capital adequacy.
Mexico (CNBV): Strong oversight of financial intermediaries.
Colombia (SFC): Emphasizes solvency and transparency.
Chile (CMF): Strict AML/KYC rules.

Best practices for compliance:

1. Hire legal partners in each country.
   
2. Integrate AML/KYC checks during onboarding.
   
3. Provide transparent contracts in Spanish/Portuguese.
   
4. Stay proactive; regulators may tighten rules as prop trading grows.
   

Key mindset: Think of compliance as a competitive advantage. LATAM traders prefer firms that operate visibly within regulatory expectations. 

Step 6: Recruit and Retain Traders

Recruitment and retention are the lifeblood of a prop firm.

How to recruit traders in LATAM:

• Leverage social media and messaging apps — Instagram, WhatsApp, and Telegram dominate. Invest in your marketing strategy.
  
• Partner with local influencers in trading and finance.
  
• Offer low-cost challenge entry points to attract first-timers.
  

How to retain traders:

• Provide fast payouts via local rails (Pix, SPEI).
  
• Run competitions and leaderboards to foster community.
  
• Offer education and mentorship to help traders improve.
  
• Localize communications and your prop package to make it unique. Spanish and Portuguese support is critical.
  

Trader psychology in LATAM: Many see prop trading as a path to financial independence. Firms that provide education and transparent profit-sharing will attract loyalty.

Leverate supports advanced retention tools, including Challenge Retry options, and industry first Challenge Keeper, and multi-language Prop Dashboard access for real-time payouts with built-in analytics. Gamified leaderboards and performance milestones drive trader motivation and long-term loyalty.

Step 7: Scale Across Borders

Scaling across LATAM requires adaptability.

Expansion strategies:

• Start in Brazil or Mexico for scale, then expand to Colombia and Chile.
  
• Localize marketing campaigns; what resonates in Mexico may not in Chile.
  
• Adapt challenge models: shorter-term, lower-fee challenges work well in Brazil; more structured programs succeed in Chile.
  
• Use local payment processors in every country.
  

Scaling formula: Centralize infrastructure, decentralize marketing and community-building.

Launching alone is hard. Leverate provides end-to-end prop packages that allow regulated firms to launch and scale in Latin America quickly.

Leverate: Your Technology Partner for Prop Success in LATAM

Not every prop firm in Latin America needs a turnkey, one-size-fits-all solution. At Leverate, we understand that each business has unique ambitions, markets, and trader communities. That’s why we offer flexible prop packages that can be tailored to your needs.

Choose the Prop Package or Build the Full Powerhouse

• Adopt our prop package: A fully customizable environment where you can design your own trader challenges, rules, and scaling models.
  
• Or build the powerhouse: Combine the prop package with our full suite of solutions, including:
  
  • Sirix Trading Platform – A sleek, mobile-first platform with advanced charting, social trading, and web access.
    
  • CRM System – Localized for Spanish and Portuguese, with KYC/AML integration and scalable onboarding tools.
    
  • Broker Portal (Risk Management) – A centralized hub for monitoring trader performance, setting risk limits, and controlling exposure.
    
  • Prop Dashboard – A trader-friendly interface where clients can track challenges, monitor performance, and request payouts with ease.
    
  • Leverate Prime Liquidity – Institutional-grade liquidity across forex, indices, commodities, and crypto to keep execution fast and spreads competitive.
    

Together, these tools form a complete powerhouse for launching, managing, and scaling a prop firm in Latin America.

Distinctive Features That Give You the Edge

What sets Leverate apart is not just the tech stack, but the customization and flexibility we bring to prop trading firms.

• Fully Customizable Trading & Challenge Environments
  Design every element of your challenge — from profit targets to drawdown rules — to fit your market strategy.
  
• Retries & Challenge Keeper
  Support traders with fair retry options that encourage persistence while protecting the firm’s capital.
  
• Discount Codes & Localized Challenges
  Launch region-specific promotions, price points, and challenge structures tailored for Brazil, Mexico, or Colombia.
  
• Unique Prop Environments
  No two Leverate clients look the same. We build a bespoke environment for each firm — aligning with your brand, your traders, and your business goals.

Leverate is not just a tech provider; it’s the partner for your success in launching a prop firm in Latin America.

Future Trends in LATAM Prop Trading

The LATAM prop trading landscape will evolve fast:

1. AI and automation
   From automated risk controls to AI-powered trader analytics, firms that adopt these tools will outperform.
   
2. Institutional inflows
   Global investors are watching LATAM fintech. Prop firms that establish strong brands now will benefit from partnerships and acquisitions later.
   
3. Tighter regulations
   As the sector grows, expect more oversight. Firms that prepare early will scale smoothly.
   
4. Community-driven models
   Gamification, social trading, and trader competitions will drive engagement.
   

Conclusion 

Latin America is in the middle of a fintech revolution. With rapid adoption of digital tools, a rising population of traders, and huge untapped potential, this is one of the most exciting regions in the world to build a prop firm.

But success requires more than ambition. To win in LATAM, you need:

• The right technology stack.
  
• Reliable liquidity access.
  
• Smart regulatory navigation.
  
• Strong trader acquisition and retention strategies.
  

That’s why Leverate is the partner of choice. With full prop packages for regulated firms, including customizable challenges, retention and conversion localized tools, and end-to-end optional turnkey solutions, Leverate equips you with everything to launch and scale.

Ready to build the future?
Contact Leverate today and launch your prop firm in Latin America with the partner designed for your success.

FAQ

What are the first steps to launching a prop firm in Latin America?
Validate demand, choose a technology partner, secure liquidity, and design your trader challenges.

What makes Latin America attractive for prop firms?
Rapid fintech growth, a young trader base, and appetite for speculative trading.

Does Leverate provide prop packages?
Yes, Leverate offers full, custom prop packages, and on top, you can opt for our turnkey solutions, including CRM, Broker Portal, Prop Dashboard and Liquidity. How can a new prop firm stand out in LATAM?
By offering localized, flexible challenges, education programs, and transparent profit-sharing.