Ben Chaffee: The Engineer-Turned-COO Running Alpha Futures' $5M+ Payout Machine

When Alpha Futures launched in July 2024, it didn't just become another futures prop firm. Within four months, it crossed $5 million in payouts. And the person running day-to-day operations? A former engineer from San Diego who's also an active funded trader at Topstep.

Ben Chaffee serves as COO of Alpha Futures, the futures-focused sister company to Alpha Capital Group. While George Kohler and Andrew Blaylock founded the firm, Ben Chaffee built the operational infrastructure that's processing payouts faster than most firms twice their age.

And here's what makes him different: he's not just running a prop firm. He's trading at one too.

From Engineering to Fintech: The Ben Chaffee Story

Ben Chaffee's Twitter bio sums up his journey in one line: "Former engineer now in the fintech world."

Before entering prop trading, Chaffee worked as an engineer, developing the technical problem-solving mindset that would later define how he approached operational challenges at Alpha Futures. His engineering background gave him a systems-thinking approach—how to build processes that scale, how to eliminate bottlenecks, and how to optimize for efficiency.

That skill set became critical when Alpha Capital Group decided to launch Alpha Futures in mid-2024. The futures prop market was growing fast, but most firms were either too restrictive (excessive rules, slow payouts) or too new to be trusted. Alpha Futures needed someone who could build operational systems that moved fast without breaking.

Ben Chaffee was that person.

The Prop Firm Operator Who Still Trades

On September 16, 2024, Ben Chaffee posted something unusual for a prop firm executive on X (formerly Twitter):

"I hate the way prop firm execs constantly attack each other on this app, so I'm going to try to put a little positivity out there. This is my largest payout to date. +$50,000. Yes, I am the COO of @Alpha_Futures_ and I am a Live Funded Trader at @Topstep."

He wasn't just talking about payouts his firm processed. He was talking about his own trading payout from Topstep, one of Alpha Futures' biggest competitors.

This is rare. Most prop firm executives don't actively trade funded accounts, especially not with competing firms. But Chaffee does, and he's public about it. He understands the trader experience because he lives it—the pressure of drawdown rules, the discipline required for consistency, the frustration when platforms glitch.

This trader-first mentality shows up in how Alpha Futures operates.

Building Alpha Futures: Speed, Simplicity, and No Daily Drawdowns

Alpha Futures launched in July 2024 with a clear value proposition: one-step evaluations, no daily drawdown limits during the eval, and fast payouts. These weren't random features—they were deliberate choices informed by what traders actually complained about.

Under Chaffee's operational leadership, Alpha Futures implemented:

Balance-Based Trailing DrawdownThe 4% max loss limit trails your end-of-day balance during the evaluation. Once your account hits +4%, the drawdown locks at your starting balance and stops trailing. This gives traders room to manage intraday volatility without constant fear of breaching.

No Daily Loss Limits (During Eval)Unlike most firms that enforce daily loss caps during the evaluation, Alpha Futures removed this rule entirely for the eval phase. On funded accounts, there's a 2% daily loss guard, but during the evaluation, traders can focus on hitting the 6% profit target without worrying about single-day losses.

Bi-Weekly PayoutsPayouts are processed every 14 days from your first trade on the qualified account. Five winning days required between payout requests until you hit 30 profitable days, then you unlock 100% withdrawals (up to the payout limit).

AlphaTicks PlatformAlpha Futures partnered with ProjectX to use the AlphaTicks platform, which integrates TradingView charting, supports up to 8 chart windows, includes Depth of Market and Time & Sales, and offers built-in copy trading across Alpha Futures accounts. The platform is commission-free, with only exchange and regulatory fees applied.

These features didn't happen by accident. They happened because Chaffee approached Alpha Futures like an engineer: identify the pain points, eliminate unnecessary friction, and build systems that scale.

The $5 Million Milestone (In Four Months)

On August 14, 2024—just one month after launch—Ben Chaffee posted that Alpha Futures had paid out $40,000 since their first payout.

By mid-August, they'd crossed $5 million in total payouts.

That's not normal growth for a prop firm that launched in July. Most new firms spend their first year building credibility and processing small payouts. Alpha Futures went from zero to $5M+ in four months, and much of that operational success comes down to how Ben Chaffee structured payout processing, risk management, and trader support.

The firm regularly posts weekly top 6 performance fees on X, showcasing payouts like:

• Tyler R.: $35,633.58
• Eshwar L.: $27,000.00
• Max H.: $19,433.09
• Nathan M.: $13,500.00
• Rogelio V.: $12,600.00
• Sean B.: $11,295.00

These aren't hypothetical numbers. They're actual performance fees paid out to traders, publicly displayed to build trust and show that Alpha Futures follows through on its promises.

The Alpha Capital Group Ecosystem

Alpha Futures isn't operating in isolation. It's part of the Alpha Capital Group ecosystem, founded in 2021 by George Kohler and Andrew Blaylock. The group includes:

• Alpha Capital Group (Forex prop trading)
• Alpha Futures (Futures prop trading, launched July 2024)
• ACG Markets (Brokerage operations)
• Alpha Trader (Advanced trading desk)
• Alpha Prime (Professional trading desk for elite traders)

George Kohler, who co-founded the entire ecosystem, started trading at age 18 and studied banking, finance, and investments at BPP University in London. He worked at Equals (an FTSE-listed company specializing in institutional FX) before launching Alpha Capital Group in 2021.

Andrew Blaylock, the other co-founder, is a chartered MCSI professional with a Level 6 certificate in private investment advice and management. He previously founded Clear Capital and runs the broking floor.

Ben Chaffee joined this ecosystem to run Alpha Futures specifically, bringing his engineering background and trader perspective to build operations that actually work.

Platform Expansion: NinjaTrader, Tradovate, Quantower

In January 2025, Alpha Futures announced plans to integrate three new platforms: NinjaTrader, Tradovate, and Quantower. This expansion gives traders more choice beyond the AlphaTicks platform and signals that Alpha Futures is scaling infrastructure to support a growing trader base.

However, in November 2024, ProjectX announced it would no longer work with any firms besides Topstep, effective February 2026. This means Alpha Futures is transitioning current ProjectX users to other platforms—a challenge Ben Chaffee is managing as COO.

Despite the platform transition, Alpha Futures continues processing payouts and onboarding traders, demonstrating operational resilience under Chaffee's leadership.

The Bottom Line

Ben Chaffee isn't your typical prop firm executive. He's a former engineer who understands systems. He's an active trader who understands pressure. And he's the COO of a firm that went from $0 to $5M+ in payouts in four months.

Alpha Futures launched in July 2024 with a clear mission: remove the friction that makes prop trading frustrating. No daily drawdowns during evals. Balance-based trailing drawdowns. Bi-weekly payouts. Commission-free trading.

And under Ben Chaffee's operational leadership, it's working.

From San Diego to London, from engineering to fintech, from funded trader to prop firm COO—Ben Chaffee is building Alpha Futures the way he'd want a prop firm to operate if he were starting from scratch.

Which, in a way, he is.