With all due respect to some of my friends on this post, this thread is full of misinformation. Prop. forex is not pushed by major 'prop' firms simply because the juice is not there for them. In other words, it's tough to make money as a prop. house in Forex. Typically (in fact in all cases I've ever heard of), there is no commissions charged in cash Forex transactions (the money is made on the spread). Obviously, this flies directly in the face of the prop. houses as commissions are their main avenue of revenue. Furthermore, most senior management at prop. houses simply do not have experience with Forex. As far as banks rigging the game, etc. this is simply not true and any comments along these lines are borne out of ignorance or alternative agendas. In fact, I would argue that the amount of manipulation that occurs in the Forex market is de minimis to the amount that occurs regularly in equities. Put simply, the market is too large and there are too many players to have manipulation on a grand scale (even central banks cannot manipulate the market for long- see recent $/Yen action by BOJ). Banks regularly employ prop. traders on the desk and allow them free reign within their pre-determined limits. Contrary to previous comments, depending upon experience, these limits range from $50k per day drawdowns to $1 Million+ daily drawdown limits I would hardly consider that a tight leash. More often, banks employ market makers in particular currency pairs to facilitate customer order flow. This activity can be likened most closely with OTC Market Makers with the exception of the spread being miniscuile in comparison to equities and the ability to manipulate an order virtually non-existent. In fact, strict currency market-making is a low-revenue business (in some cases a loss leader) for most banks and is often provided as a 'service' to garner juicer business like structured products, swaps, etc. Obviously, prop. traders at the banks can make huge sums getting a feel for the order flow, however, this entails substantial risk on the part of the bank and is often not much better than simple trend following with a chart. A well paid prop. trader at a bank will generally make a small six-figure draw vs. approx. 10% of their net trading profits.
Personally, I have no vested interest in promoting the trading of currencies. I am just trying to put forward the facts. As a trader myself, I find the currency markets to be my vehicle of choice as it operates 24 hours per day, allows for minimal slippage on entry/exit, allows for easy stop order placement and execution with minimal slippage and often has nicely trending markets. As a trend-follower, I find this market to be most suitable. If someone can show me a way to make nice money owning a prop. firm that specializes in Forex, I am happy to start one. However, I just don't see a way to make good, safe $$$ owning a prop. firm specializing in Forex as the spread is the main source of revenue (and the banks have trouble making real $$$ with the normal spread of a major currency pair at 1-2 pips).
In sum, currency trading for trader=good; for prop. firm owner=bad.