Prop trading firm Topstep has registered with the National Futures Association (NFA) as a Swap Firm and has also been approved to operate as a Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA).
Regulatory filings show that Topstep applied to become an NFA member at the start of last month and to register as a Swap Firm and a CTA.
The company was approved less than two weeks later to operate as an NFA member and was also approved to operate as a Swap Firm.
Christopher Darak, who works in a compliance role at Topstep, is a Principal of Topstep Advisory LLC, which holds the registration.
Topstep also got the green light to operate as a Swap Firm on May 2nd.
It is unclear what the end goal of this setup is. The changes at the firm came less than two weeks after a lawsuit was filed against Topstep by trader Vincent McCrudden in late March.
In his lawsuit, McCrudden argues that Topstep is operating as an unregistered Commodity Pool Operator.
Topstep was arguably the first ‘modern’ prop firm to set up. The company was launched in 2012 by ex-futures trader Michael Patak, who still owns the business today.
