Last updated: 2 October 2026 Prop firm search interest has exploded since 2021. Did the exchange-traded Micro E-mini market grow with it? We pulled every weekly CFTC Commitments of Traders report for the two biggest Micro E-mini contracts and set them next to Google search interest in “prop firm”. This is a description, not a cause-and-effect claim.
Micro futures grew this year, but nowhere near as fast as interest in prop firms. In the 52 weeks to 22 September 2026, average open interest in Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures was 173.7K contracts, up 34% on the year before. Micro E-mini S&P 500 was 231.7K, up 28%. Worldwide Google search interest in “prop firm” rose 117% over almost the same weeks (see our Popularity Index).
The small-trader share of these contracts went down, not up. The CFTC’s “nonreportable” positions are those left after every trader above the reporting threshold is counted. They averaged 32.0% of Micro Nasdaq open interest in the last 52 weeks, down from 38.5% the year before. For Micro S&P it was 44.5%, down from 49.0%.
Micro Nasdaq hit a record in August. Its open interest peaked at 311,244 contracts on 2026-08-04, the highest since its first weekly CFTC report in our data (4 August 2020). Micro S&P’s highest reading was earlier: 490,045 on 2023-06-13.
Why the gap? Most prop trading never reaches the exchange. Evaluations and most funded accounts are simulated (Apex, for one, says its “Evaluation and Performance Accounts (PAs)” “are simulated rather than live trading accounts”), so those trades don’t show up in CFTC data. These numbers can’t show that prop firms moved the futures market, or that they didn’t. They put two public trends side by side, nothing more.
Year by year
Averages over 52-week windows ending in late September. Open interest is the number of contracts still open at each weekly report. “Small-trader share” is nonreportable long plus short positions, divided by twice the open interest.
| 52 weeks | Micro Nasdaq-100 open interest | Small-trader share | Micro S&P 500 open interest | Small-trader share | “prop firm” search interest (0–100) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2021 – Sep 2022 | 107.3K | 41.2% | 174.0K* | 39.6% | 2.4 |
| Sep 2022 – Sep 2023 | 117.2K | 44.6% | 203.8K | 41.5% | — |
| Sep 2023 – Sep 2024 | 102.0K | 44.0% | 180.1K | 44.2% | — |
| Sep 2024 – Sep 2025 | 129.8K | 38.5% | 180.8K | 49.0% | 35.3 |
| Sep 2025 – Sep 2026 | 173.7K | 32.0% | 231.7K | 44.5% | 76.6 |
* The CFTC published Micro S&P data for 43 of the 52 weeks in this window (2021-11-02 to 2022-09-20), so that average covers fewer weeks. Search interest is from one Google Trends request (worldwide, weekly) via our Popularity Index. Its first window starts 26 September 2021, and we only show the windows we published there. Sources: CFTC query, Micro Nasdaq-100, CFTC query, Micro S&P 500.
Methodology
On 2 October 2026 we pulled the CFTC’s legacy futures-only Commitments of Traders data (CFTC Public Reporting) for Micro E-mini S&P 500 (contract code 13874U) and Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 (209747), from the first report available through the 22 September 2026 report. For the weeks we checked, open interest was the same in the Traders in Financial Futures report. We left out Micro Russell 2000 and Micro Dow: the CFTC skipped too many weeks for those contracts to compare year by year.
The CFTC explains that “Nonreportable Positions” are “derived by subtracting total long and short ‘Reportable Positions’ from the total open interest”, and that “the number of traders involved and the commercial/non-commercial classification of each trader are unknown” (CFTC explanatory notes). So they’re a rough stand-in for smaller traders, not a count of retail accounts. Open interest is also not trading volume: it drops sharply around each quarterly expiry. That’s why we compare 52-week averages, not single weeks.
What this can’t show: prop firm evaluations and most funded accounts are simulated, so they never become exchange positions. A firm that does place real trades may report them under its own name. (Apex quote: Apex help center.) Nothing here measures prop firm volumes, and nothing here is evidence of cause and effect. Related: Popularity Index, Pass-Rate Registry (how many traders reach funded or live accounts), US Availability Tracker and our methodology.
How to cite this
Prop Data Lab, “Micro Futures vs. the Prop Firm Boom”, updated 2 October 2026, https://propdatalab.com/micro-futures-vs-prop-firm-boom/
The table and the CSV are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0: copy, chart or republish them, commercial use included, as long as you link back to this page. The underlying COT figures are CFTC public data. Please also cite the CFTC.
Common questions
Are prop firm trades included in CFTC Commitments of Traders data?
Mostly not. Prop firm evaluations and most funded accounts are simulated, so they never become exchange positions and don't appear in COT reports. A firm that places real trades may show up under its own name.
Has Micro E-mini futures open interest grown?
Yes. In the 52 weeks to 22 September 2026, average open interest was 173.7K contracts in Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures (up 34% on the year before) and 231.7K in Micro E-mini S&P 500 (up 28%), according to CFTC data.
What are nonreportable positions in the COT report?
They are the open interest left after the CFTC subtracts all reportable traders' positions. The CFTC says the number and type of traders behind them are unknown, so they are only a rough stand-in for small traders.