Former JP Morgan and Dresdner Kleinworth traders launched a crypto prop platform

Hong Kong-based Velotrade, founded by former institutional derivatives traders from JPMorgan and Dresdner Kleinwort, has unveiled a crowdfunded trading platform that provides capital to traders based on performance and shares profits.

Crypto-proprietary trading is a model that allows traders to exchange digital assets using capital provided by a proprietary trading company instead of their own money.

To get a funded account, most retail models require traders to pass a test that assesses profitability and risk discipline. If successful, traders will receive a funded account and receive a share of the profits if they continue to follow the company's trading rules and risk limits.

Velotrade's framework, built from scratch for crypto trading, removes restrictions such as consistency rules, time limits and news or weekend trading restrictions, the company said.

The platform uses institutional liquidity bridges and AI-driven hedging to mirror trading positions, ensuring that the firm only earns when traders succeed.

“We're not here to collect test fees and hope people fail,” said Gianluca Pizzituti, CEO and co-founder of Velotrade. “Our revenue model is tied to trader performance. That changes everything about how you design regulations and treat people who trade your capital.”

VeloTrad offers traders $5,000 to $200,000 in leveraged accounts without the need for personal capital at risk.

The platform focuses exclusively on crypto assets with up to 6x leverage over Bitcoin and Ethereum. Payments are available after 14 days, then weekly on request, in USDC or USDT.

Veloterad brings combined institutional experience spanning three decades. Vittorio De Angelis, executive chairman, traded equity derivatives at JP Morgan and Dresdner Kleinwort before leaving to become co-head of equity derivatives at Bank of America.

Pizzuti previously operated a proprietary high-frequency trading business in Singapore focusing on foreign exchange and equity indices, before establishing the first VeloTrade trade finance business in Hong Kong.

The founding team previously built Velotrade Management Limited, a trade finance platform established in 2016, which has distributed and operates over $2.5 billion to clients globally.