2025 was a year defined by significant investments in both scale and innovation, all aimed at supporting trader success. We built upon our deep experience serving active traders by expanding our foundation across people, technology, and product capabilities. On the scaleside, we made strategic investments in infrastructure and talent to ensure we can support a growing, global trader community. On the innovation side, we accelerated the development of advanced tools that help traders manage risk, learn more effectively, and practice trading in risk-free environments. From sophisticated risk management solutions to advanced education programs and simulated trading experiences, every initiative was designed to give disciplined traders the best possible chance at success in the futures markets.
What was the highlight of 2025?
The standout moment for 2025 was NinjaTrader’s strategic partnership with Kraken. This accelerates our long-term vision by several years and strongly reinforces our commitment to pro-customer values. By combining strengths, we are redefining what retail-accessible trading products and experiences can look like, while also creating opportunities to expand into new geographies and offer a broader set of tradable instruments. This alignment translates into tangible benefits for traders like expanded product capabilities, global market access, and faster innovation cycles. I think this partnership will reshape retail trading.
What are your expectations for 2026?
Looking ahead to 2026, we anticipate a transformative year driven by innovation across three core areas. New client-facing products, exchange-listed tradable instruments, and the launch of distribution models means traders can expect meaningful product expansion and new channels for engagement, both directly and through partners. This combination of product depth, speed, and accessibility positions NinjaTrader to continue delivering unmatched trading experiences for both novice and advanced traders.
What trends are getting underway that people may not know about but will be important?
Exchange-level product innovation is accelerating, and retail investors will soon see a wave of new, intuitive, bite-sized products that feel far more familiar and accessible than traditional futures. At the same time, retail-oriented products are proliferating across asset classes. Prediction markets, structured micro-products, and new equity-engagement tools are moving from niche concepts to mainstream offerings, giving traders more ways to participate and learn. Traders are also increasingly seeking platforms that offer access to professional traders and greater transparency. Initiatives like NT Live, our daily live stream, and other community-driven tools are unlocking shared learning, mentorship, and peer-led insights are all designed to help traders strengthen their strategies. Platforms that effectively blend real community, transparency, and professional-grade tools are standing out in an increasingly crowded landscape. Finally, hybrid digital-traditional financial products are emerging. The convergence of DeFi and TradFi is accelerating, and these blended experiences are quickly becoming a meaningful part of retail trading. Over time, I think they will establish a new standard for how traders engage with markets.
What industry trends have been prominent but are now fading (or soon will fade)?
Slow innovation cycles at exchanges. Retail traders now expect rapid experimentation and fast iteration, and I think slow-moving exchanges will struggle to keep pace. I also think one-size-fits-all retail trading platforms are quickly losing favor with traders. Users want more hyper-personalized, modular, and strategy-specific experiences that cater to individual trading styles and I expect this will quickly become the norm as technology progresses. We’re also seeing commission compression as the core differentiator. Discounting alone no longer drives loyalty. Traders prioritize execution quality, insightful features, and value-added tools over the lowest cost. This is a trend I think we’ll see really pick up in the new year. Lastly, AI-assisted insights, automation, and context-aware signals are becoming integral to modern trading workflows, reducing reliance on traditional charting as the sole decision-making tool.
