Registering as a Professional Trader

Last updated: May 6, 2026

Your Professional or Non-Professional status determines your market data subscription fees on Kraken Derivatives US. This registration is required by CME for futures products only. Non-Professional clients with funded accounts receive free Level I market data. Professional clients must purchase market data separately. See Market Data for pricing details.

Please note that if income from futures trading is your only source of income, it does not necessarily mean that you are a Professional trader.

The definitions of Professional and Non-Professional are determined by the futures exchanges, and some information on the requirements for both can be found below.

Non-Professional:

Non-Professional shall mean and include either:

  • an individual, natural person Subscriber(s)

  • certain small business entities (limited liability companies, partnerships, trusts or corporations) that receive and use Information (excluding any pit traded data)

In each case subject to the following restrictions:

  • The data subscriber must have an active Kraken Derivatives US trading account

  • The data subscriber must not be a member (or hold or lease any type of membership) of any exchange

  • The data subscriber does not have a primary business purpose that involves trading

  • The data subscriber must not be registered or qualified as a professional trader or investment adviser with any stock, commodities or futures exchange or contract market, or with any regulatory authority, professional association or recognized professional body

  • The data subscriber must not be affiliated with any entity that is or may be considered a Professional user

Professional:

A Professional data subscriber is any subscriber that does not meet the qualifications of a Non-Professional or falls under the categories described below. Notwithstanding anything else herein, Professionals shall include, without limitation:

  • Any person that is registered or qualified as a professional trader or investment adviser with any stock, commodities or futures exchange or contract market, or with any regulatory authority, professional association or recognized professional body

  • Any person or entity that acts on behalf of an institution that engages in brokerage, banking, investment, or financial activities

  • Any person or employee of an entity that holds any form of membership at any CFTC-regulated Designated Contract Market (DCM) or any other exchange

Brokerage services are provided by NinjaTrader Clearing, LLC doing business as Kraken Derivatives US, a Futures Commission Merchant registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and a member of the National Futures Association (NFA ID #0309379).

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