Market making and proprietary trading are two common strategies within the sphere of finance. While they might appear similar on the surface, given their goal of capitalizing on trading profits, they are fundamentally different in both their approaches and risks. Here's a closer look at these two concepts and an examination of whether market making qualifies as proprietary trading.

Market making refers to the process where financial firms or individual traders quote both a buy and a sell price for a financial instrument, hoping to make a profit on the bid-offer spread. Market makers ensure that trading mechanisms remain efficient as they guarantee liquidity by being ready to buy or sell at any given time.

This is crucial to the functioning of the securities markets as it maintains a continuous flow of trading and ensures securities can always be bought or sold. Market makers bear significant risks, but they are compensated by the spread between the bid and the ask price.

On the other hand, proprietary trading (also known as prop trading) occurs when a financial firm trades stocks, bonds, currencies, commodities, derivatives, or other financial instruments with its own money, as opposed to its customers' money, with the goal of making a direct profit from the trade. This kind of trading is high risk but can also generate high returns.

Technically, market making can be considered a form of proprietary trading as the market maker is trading on its own account. However, there's a key distinction: the purpose and the risks involved.

In proprietary trading, the firm aims to profit directly from the market movement of the securities. This often involves holding positions for a considerable period, even overnight, leading to exposure to potential market risks and requiring the firm to maintain significant capital to mitigate these risks.

In contrast, market makers generally aim to profit from the bid-ask spread without taking a view on the direction of the market. They typically do not hold positions for long and hence, have a different risk profile. Their primary role is to facilitate liquidity in the markets, not to speculate on price movements.

Moreover, in some jurisdictions, regulations distinctly separate market making from proprietary trading. For instance, the Volcker Rule, part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in the U.S, restricts commercial banks from engaging in proprietary trading while still allowing market making activities.

In summary, while market making involves trading securities with a firm's own money, like proprietary trading, the intentions and the risk profiles of the two are distinct. So, while market making has some elements of proprietary trading, it cannot be precisely classified as such due to the role it plays in providing liquidity to the markets, its risk profile, and regulatory treatment.