Institutional infrastructure
On-chain settlement and margining for interest rate derivatives.
Block Margin gives bank rate desks infrastructure to settle and margin OTC rate swaps with their corporate clients - continuously, on one shared record, with a legal wrapper their legal team can read.
Book a briefing
30-minute call with the team
Scope a pilot, see the testnet walkthrough, get the full briefing PDF under NDA.
Block Margin makes continuous margining and deterministic settlement available to any bank-corporate swap relationship, with a legal framework the bank's legal team can sign off.
Chain-agnostic protocol
Current status
Cardano
Testnet
Live on testnet. Working prototype for 3-month SOFR FRAs and vanilla interest rate swaps. Used as the reference implementation for the smart contract, oracle, and custody logic.
XRPL
In Development
Scope under active discussion with prospective investors and infrastructure partners.
Bilateral rate swaps between banks and corporates run on plumbing that hasn't materially changed in decades.
Every bilateral swap between a bank and a corporate still requires months of ISDA negotiation, margin calls that move once a day via email, and month-end reconciliations done from scratch.
Friction 01
Documentation drag
Every new corporate hedging relationship requires an ISDA Master, a CSA, and bilateral credit lines to be negotiated before the first trade. Months, not days.
Friction 02
Margin friction
VM moves once a day (if at all), computed off-chain by a valuation agent, delivered by email or via legacy margin-call platforms. Disputes take two business days to resolve.
Friction 03
Broken reconciliation
Bank and corporate each hold their own version of the book. Month-end MTM statements arrive late and break against internal accounting.
Product
Infrastructure, not a venue.
Block Margin is a single smart-contract layer for the margining, settlement, and reconciliation workflow around bilateral bank-corporate swaps. The bank keeps the relationship, the credit line, and the quote; the platform acts as the shared computation agent across both sides. Trades remain bilateral OTC derivatives; the platform is not a CCP, trading venue, or SEF.
One smart-contract layer. Three functions. One shared record both sides see.
Common agreement
Replaces: Counterparty ISDA/CSA negotiation
Short-form ISDA for new counterparties; existing Master and CSA for existing. Economic terms matched to the on-chain smart contract.
Margining
Replaces: Daily VM + triparty IM
Smart contract enforced VM and IM against the oracle snapshot. Recomputed multiple times a day.
Settlement
Replaces: T+2 bank-rail wires
Deterministic on-chain payment at fixing. Same inputs, same outputs, both sides.
On a public blockchain - immutable, auditable, replayable block by block
Common agreement
One set of terms. Every counterparty.
The platform smart contract mirrors the parameters of an ISDA Master and CSA as executable on-chain rules. A bank onboards once. Every corporate client the bank introduces trades under the same terms - no bilateral negotiation, no per-client credit lines, no schedule elections. The legal master agreement sits alongside the smart contract; the protocol is the operational layer of an enforceable ISDA, not a replacement for one.
Eligible collateral is set by the bank's CSA, enforced by the validator
- Today's default: regulated fiat stablecoins. The bank's CSA picks the allow-list; the validator enforces it on-chain.
- Forward path: as regulated tokenised RWA comes on-chain (tokenised money-market funds, sovereign bonds, tokenised bank deposits), any asset that is eligible under the bank’s own regulatory collateral policy can be added.
- We enforce, we don’t prescribe. Concentration limits, haircut schedules, and wrong-way-risk exclusions are per-bank parameters, not platform defaults.
Margining
Continuous margin.
Variation margin is computed against a timestamped oracle curve and settled atomically on each revaluation. Initial margin is held in a segregated smart contract - not on the platform's balance sheet - recalibrated whenever the portfolio changes. The full margin cycle - call, delivery, acknowledgement - completes in a single block.
- Margining where previously it was economically prohibitive.
- Revaluation cadence from daily to hourly on testnet, 15-minute target at mainnet.
- Grid-based initial margin in v1. Risk-sensitivity methodology (SIMM-aligned) on the roadmap.
- Pre-trade margin preview - the bank sees the IM impact of a new client trade before submission.
Lifecycle
The lifecycle, on one record.
Cashflows execute on-chain on their scheduled date, valued against the same timestamped curve both sides see. Every payment, fixing, and lifecycle event is a transaction the bank's and corporate's operations teams reconcile against a single shared record. On mainnet, the record's confidential terms are visible only to the counterparties and their authorised auditors; see Privacy below.
Deterministic
Same oracle snapshot, same formula. The treasurer's MTM equals the bank's book by construction, not by reconciliation.
Continuous
VM recomputed on every oracle update. Cashflows execute at fixing, not T+2.
No reconciliation cycle
The on-chain trade record is the golden source. Confirmations, MTM statements and regulatory extracts are reproduced from it on demand.
Reproducible
Every valuation, margin call and payment is anchored to a block height and oracle signature. Any historical moment is replayable.
Legacy rails
- ISDA Master and CSA negotiated bilaterally at onboarding
- Terms agreed by voice, chat or RFQ
- Confirmations exchanged via MarkitWire / FpML
- Trade booked independently into each side’s risk system
T = 0
Inception
Block Margin
- Protocol-level smart contract covers default and close-out; portfolio netting on the roadmap
- Terms captured on-chain at contract mint
- Token + trade record is the confirmation on-chain
- One shared record - no dual booking
Legacy rails
- IM sized off-chain under SIMM or CCP model
- Collateral moved to a segregated triparty custodian
- Posted amount reconciled bilaterally
T = 0
Initial margin
Block Margin
- Risk engine sizes IM inside the validator
- Collateral locked in the on-chain custody contract
- Posted amount visible on the ledger - nothing to reconcile
Legacy rails
- Each side marks to its own internal curves at EOD
- Daily VM call per CSA; MTA and threshold applied
- Disputes worked out over email, phone or portal
- Periodic cashflows wired T+2 on bank rails
- Monthly portfolio reconciliation; MTM statements produced separately
T = 1+
In life
Block Margin
- Both sides mark to the same oracle-timestamped curve
- VM recomputed on every oracle update; MTA enforced on-chain
- Nothing to dispute - the on-chain record is the golden source
- Cashflows execute on-chain at fixing, settled in stablecoin
- Statements and regulatory extracts generated from the trade record on demand
Legacy rails
- VM call missed; ISDA cure period runs (typically 1-3 business days)
- Early Termination Notice served under ISDA Section 6
- Close-out Amount determined by the non-defaulting party on a commercially reasonable basis
- IM released from triparty and applied against close-out; residual wired on bank rails
- Valuation disputes routinely escalate to arbitration
T = Breach
Liquidation
Block Margin
- VM posting missed against the oracle snapshot; cure window starts (24 hours by default, configurable per client relationship)
- After the cure window expires with no cure, the non-defaulting counterparty can force liquidation through the validator
- Positions marked at the current oracle snapshot; close-out amount deterministic
- IM applied against close-out in the same transaction; A liquidation fee to the non-defaulting party
- Nothing to dispute - smart contract logic and oracle snapshot are the valuation
Legacy rails
- Final fixing reconciled between the two books
- Terminal cashflow wired on bank rails
- Initial margin released from custody
- Trade archived in each side’s records
T = Maturity
Close-out
Block Margin
- Final fixing consumed from the oracle
- Terminal cashflow released by the smart contract
- Initial margin released atomically in the same transaction
- Trade archived on-chain; audit trail always reproducible
Architecture
One smart contract. Three on-chain components.
The protocol is chain-agnostic by design. Smart contract logic, oracle contract, and collateral custody run on a public L1 (see status strip above).
TradFi rate sources
Data Provider / Brokers
Bank treasury system
API integration
Corporate web console
Web UI
The on-chain protocol. One shared record across rate, execution, and custody.
Rate oracle
(signed SOFR curve publisher)
Validator smart contract
(on-chain execution)
Collateral custody contract
(segregated per user)
On-chain ledger
(immutable)
Reporting extracts
(roadmap)
Stablecoin / bank-rail bridge
(operated by bank or provider)
Privacy
Confidential by the time you trade for real.
Testnet today runs in the clear so the full workflow can be stress-tested end-to-end. Bilateral swap terms (notional, fixed rate, counterparty identity) are confidential in the real world, so confidentiality is switched on at mainnet before the first bank-corporate trade.
Public chain over private is an infrastructure choice about resilience: many independent validators, no single operator who can stall, censor, or rewrite the chain, and liveness that does not depend on the platform provider staying solvent. Privacy is a feature added on top, not a reason to give up that resilience. At mainnet, the data layer selectively discloses economic terms to the two counterparties and their authorised auditors while the rails stay public and neutral.
Legal framework
The smart contract adapts to your ISDA.
Aligned to ISDA Master and CSA, or to a short-form single-document equivalent. The validator mirrors whichever legal wrapper the bank elects, and is the operational layer of that agreement, not a replacement for it.
Governing law
The master agreement's governing law is elected per partner bank during pilot scoping.
Onboarding a new counterparty
For a corporate without an existing bilateral ISDA, the bank onboards on a short-form ISDA (Master + CSA in a single client-execution document), with Schedule and CSA elections pre-set to the values the on-chain smart contract enforces. The smart contract becomes the operational layer of that document.
Alignment
Alignment with ISDA is reviewed with each partner bank's legal team at pilot scoping.
Regulatory posture
The platform does not operate as a recognised CCP, trading venue, or SEF under EMIR, Dodd-Frank Title VII, or MiFID II. Bank-corporate trades remain bilateral OTC derivatives.
For the corporate
Hedging priced closer to market, with a clean audit trail your finance team signs off first time.
Continuous margining collapses the unmargined-exposure markup that sits inside every small and mid-corp rate quote. The timestamped, immutable valuation record is the cleanest IFRS 9 / ASC 815 effectiveness trail a finance team can ask for.
Pricing closer to market
The markup a corporate pays today on a sub-$5m rate hedge carries 50-100 basis points of unmargined-exposure cost: CCR capital, CVA reserve, liquidity charge, and operational overhead. Continuous on-chain margining compresses that exposure to the intra-publish window, and the markup compresses with it.
Hedge accounting your auditor already trusts
Every mark, fixing and margin movement carries a signed timestamp and the oracle curve snapshot it was valued against. IFRS 9 hedge effectiveness testing and ASC 815 documentation become a query, not a reconstruction exercise. The same record supports the statutory audit and the month-end treasury report.
Onboard once
No per-trade ISDA negotiation once the bank relationship is on-chain.
Unwind at the shared mark
Early termination priced against the oracle mark both sides see, not a commercial quote.
Counterparty risk in segregated custody
Collateral held in a per-counterparty on-chain custody contract, not on the bank’s balance sheet.
The pilot
What a first engagement looks like.
A Block Margin pilot is designed around a single bank and one of its corporate clients. The first engagement runs end-to-end on testnet, with defined off-ramps at each phase and success criteria agreed in writing. Testnet outcomes inform the mainnet go-live decision.
Initial engagement - Testnet
Phase 1 - Evaluation
Joint working group. Integration scoping, legal and regulatory fit, security audit scope. The bank identifies one corporate client for the pilot.
Phase 2 - Testnet pilot
The bank books trades with one corporate client on the testnet, in parallel with the existing bilateral hedge. Daily tie-out against the bank's internal book. Testnet outcomes inform the mainnet go-live decision.
Future development
Phase 3 - Mainnet go-live
Subject to clearing legal and regulator approval, and fine-tuned based on lessons learned in Phase 2. Real collateral, capped notional and tenor. One corporate client live. Path to scale: more clients, more tenors, more products.
Team
Built by people who have run rate books.
The Block Margin team combines decades of direct experience on sell-side rates desks, derivatives clearing, and on-chain infrastructure.
Dmitry Shibaev
Founder
20+ years across front-office rates trading, regulatory stress testing, and on-chain infrastructure. Senior mandates at JP Morgan, UBS, and NatWest Markets covering trading, platform development and risk management.
Tony Woodhams
Business Development
20+ years across capital-markets and risk advisory practices at leading management consultancies and the Big Four. Senior mandates at Morgan Stanley, HSBC, and Credit Suisse covering trading risk, regulation, and front-office transformation.
Frequently asked
Questions a bank's legal, credit, and operations teams typically raise first.
Ready to scope a pilot?
Tell us your role and what you’d like to cover. We’ll schedule a 30-minute briefing call with the team.
Or try the testnet
Launch the app from your side of the trade.
For banks
Settle and margin with your corporate clients.
Warehouse rate risk on-chain. Post once, margin automatically, settle deterministically. Your existing corporate relationships, fewer ops.
Launch as a bankFor corporates
Hedge your floating-rate exposure with your bank.
Hedging priced closer to market, with a clean IFRS 9 audit trail. See For the corporate for the full picture.
Launch as a corporate