Former JP Morgan and Dresdner Kleinwort Traders Launch Crypto Prop Firm After Paying Out USD2.5 Billion in Fintech
*Velotrade enters the crypto funded trading market with institutional foundations, aligned incentives, and a rule set built from scratch for crypto traders*
HONG KONG, March 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ – Velotrade, founded by former institutional derivatives traders from JP Morgan, Dresdner Kleinwort, and Bank of America, today announced the launch of its crypto funded trading platform. The firm offers traders the opportunity to operate a prop trading account without risking their own capital. The account sizes range from $5,000 to $200,000, with considerable profit splits.
Velotrade is not a rebrand, a pivot from forex, or a first venture. The founding team brings combined decades of experience in capital markets, risk management, and financial technology. Their previous company, Velotrade Management Limited, operates a fintech trade finance platform that has paid out more than $2.5 billion to clients worldwide since 2016. That business continues to operate today as a separate legal entity. The founding team and the Velotrade name carry a track record covered by Bloomberg, the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Nasdaq. The crypto funded trading platform is operated by Velotrade Re Limited, a separate Hong Kong company incorporated in November 2025.
The decision to enter the crypto prop market came from a simple observation: most firms in the space are not built by or for traders.
“We looked at the crypto prop market and found firms run by people with little experience in trading, in risk management, or in running a financial services company,” said Gianluca Pizzituti, CEO and co-founder of Velotrade. “That shows. It shows in the rules, in the structure, in the fine print. We thought: there is an opportunity to build something the industry actually needs.”
A Different Business Model
Most prop firms generate the majority of their revenue from challenge fees. The more traders fail, the more fees they collect. Velotrade is built on the opposite logic.
The firm uses institutional liquidity bridges and AI driven hedging to mirror selected trader positions in real markets. When a funded trader is profitable, Velotrade earns alongside them. The business model only works if traders succeed.
“We are not here to collect challenge fees and hope people fail,” Pizzituti said. “Our revenue model is tied to trader performance. That changes everything about how you design rules, and how you treat the people trading your capital.”
Rules Written for Crypto, Not Borrowed from Forex
The majority of prop firms offering crypto instruments today were originally built for forex. Their evaluation frameworks reflect that: trailing drawdowns calibrated for pip range volatility, consistency rules, weekend holding bans, and restricted news trading windows. Applied to a 24/7 asset class with a fundamentally different liquidity and volatility profile, these rules create avoidable breaches that end funded accounts for reasons unrelated to trading skill.
Velotrade was designed from the ground up for crypto. The evaluation framework includes:
No consistency rule.** Traders are not penalised for having one large winning day or for varying position sizes based on conviction.
No time limit.** There is no cap on evaluation duration. Traders move at their own pace.
News trading permitted.** No restricted windows around market events.
Weekend holding permitted.** Positions can be held through weekends across all account tiers.
Two evaluation formats are available. The 2 step challenge targets traders who want maximum drawdown room (10% overall, 5% daily). The 1 step challenge offers a faster path to funding with tighter parameters (7% overall, 4% daily). Both run on DXtrade.
The full rule set is published on http://velotrade.com and written with institutional grade clarity. The stated standard: a trader should be able to read the rules once and know exactly where they stand.
Crypto Only
Velotrade does not offer forex, indices, or equities. The platform trades a wide range of cryptocurrencies with leverage of up to 6x on BTC and ETH. The decision is deliberate: build for one asset class and do it properly, rather than bolt crypto onto an existing infrastructure.
Payout Structure
Funded traders can request their first payout after 14 calendar days. Subsequent payouts are available weekly on request. All payouts are processed within 24 hours in USDC or USDT.
About the Founders
Gianluca Pizzituti, Chief Executive Officer
Formerly at the derivatives desk at Dresdner Kleinwort in London. Founded and ran a proprietary high frequency trading firm in FX and equity indices out of Singapore. In 2016, he founded Velotrade in Hong Kong and scaled the trade finance platform to over USD 2.5 billion in disbursements worldwide.
Vittorio De Angelis, Executive Chairman
Over 30 years in capital markets and risk management. Traded equity derivatives at JP Morgan and Dresdner Kleinwort in London, rising to Co Head of Equity Derivatives at Bank of America. Later served as Head of Brokerage at a global broker in Hong Kong.
About Velotrade
Velotrade Re Limited is a Hong Kong based company operating a crypto funded trading platform for disciplined traders. The founding team previously built Velotrade Management Limited (est. 2016), a trade finance platform that has paid out over $2.5 billion to clients worldwide and has been covered by Bloomberg, the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Nasdaq. The two companies are separate legal entities.
Challenge options, pricing, and the complete rule set are available at http://velotrade.com
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Filed under: Altcoins - @ March 13, 2026 12:48 pm