Zero Hash Announces Successful Launch of Settlement for Derivatives

New service allows institutional investors of digital assets the ability to settle over-the-counter bilateral trading of derivatives


CHICAGO, Sept. 11, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zero Hash, a digital asset and fiat currency custodian, calculation agent and settlement service, today announced the launch of support for derivatives, providing participants the ability to settle bilateral derivative transactions. Zero Hash is now able to support all back-office settlement functions for forwards, and will be expanding to options soon.

In its support of forwards settlement, Zero Hash performs collateral management for derivatives throughout their lifecycle, including:

  • The calculation of variation margin, initial margin and final settlement values,
  • The sending of margin-call notifications, and
  • The movement of funds, significantly reducing operational and counterparty risk.

The support of derivatives on the Zero Hash settlement service allows participants to customize the settlement of their forwards contracts, and to decide the frequency in which those calculations occur, providing greater flexibility to institutional investors in the digital asset space. 

“Derivatives are a rapidly evolving area within the digital asset industry, yet there is a critical demand in the market for a regulated post-trade settlement utility, like Zero Hash,” said Brian Liston, Seed CX co-founder and President of Zero Hash. “We’re excited to service that demand with the launch of this new functionality. Zero Hash can now enable any trading platform or set of participants to trade and settle forwards in an efficient and secure manner.”

“We see a growing demand for third-party settlement platforms to handle margin and settlements between counterparties,” said Darius Sit, Managing Partner at QCP Capital. “Zero Hash has been leading the way in this space, and the launch of derivatives support in addition to its spot settlement infrastructure is a testament to their focus and expertise.”

Zero Hash announced in July that it had received a virtual currency license from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). In June, Zero Hash was voted Innovator of the Year by the 2019 Profit & Loss Readers Choice Awards. This followed the subsidiary’s successful launch of a suite of over-the-counter (OTC) trade settlement services for digital assets earlier this year.

About Seed CX

Through its subsidiaries, Seed CX offers a market for institutional trading and settlement of spot digital assets, and plans to offer a separate market for CFTC-regulated derivatives. Seed CX is backed by Bain Capital Ventures, and was recently voted Best Institutional Digital Asset Provider by the Profit & Loss 2019 Readers’ Choice Awards. Furthermore, Seed CX secured the award for Best Cryptocurrency Exchange in the 2019 FinTech Breakthrough Awards, and earlier this year, Seed CX cofounders Edward Woodford and Brian Liston were named Forbes 30 Under 30 for Enterprise Technology 2019.

Seed Digital Commodities Market is a spot exchange for digital asset commodities and holds a virtual currency license from NYDFS

Zero Hash is a FinCen-regulated Money Service Business and FX Dealer as well as a Money Transmitter in more than 30 states. Zero Hash custodies both fiat and digital assets, with on-chain settlement. Zero Hash holds a virtual currency license from NYDFS.

Seed SEF is a CFTC-regulated Swap Execution Facility (SEF) that plans to offer a market for CFTC-regulated digital asset derivatives.

Seed Digital Securities Market is pending registration as a Broker Dealer with FINRA and an ATS with the SEC.

Media Contact: Hunter Stuart, hunter@propllr.com