OTC EXCHANGE DEVELOPMENT
PROPELOO engineers OTC trading platforms — RFQ engine, quote management, counterparty management, deal negotiation workflow, settlement instructions, and the post-trade reporting that institutional OTC desks require. OTC trading exists because large orders cannot be executed on a public order book without significant slippage. The platform architecture must reflect that — price discovery and execution happen bilaterally, not in a public book.
OTC trading is fundamentally different from exchange trading. There is no public order book. Prices are negotiated bilaterally between buyer and seller. Deal size, settlement timing and counterparty verification are all part of the transaction. An OTC platform must support: request-for-quote (RFQ) where one party requests prices from multiple liquidity providers simultaneously, bilateral negotiation of terms, deal confirmation, settlement instruction exchange, and post-trade reporting. The compliance requirements are also different from retail — KYB (know your business) for corporate clients, counterparty credit limits, large transaction reporting, and in regulated markets, trade reporting to a trade repository. PROPELOO designs OTC platforms that handle the full deal lifecycle from RFQ to settlement confirmation.
Bilateral deal workflow from quote request to settlement confirmation.
Client submits RFQ with asset, size and settlement preference. RFQ broadcast to selected LPs based on counterparty tier and deal size. LPs respond with firm or indicative quotes within configurable time window. Client selects best quote and initiates deal.
Counter-offer workflow: client or LP can propose modified price/size. Time-limited negotiation window. Deal acceptance locks price and triggers settlement workflow. Deal terms immutably recorded on acceptance.
Crypto settlement: on-chain transfer instructions generated and monitored. Fiat settlement: payment instructions and confirmation. Dual-leg settlement tracking — deal is not confirmed until both legs are settled. Settlement failure handling.
Institutional client onboarding with KYB documentation. Credit limit per counterparty — maximum unsettled exposure. Counterparty tier determines which LPs they can trade with and at what size.
Live deal blotter, pending deal monitoring, settlement status tracking, counterparty exposure dashboard, P&L by deal, LP performance analytics (fill rates, quote quality).
Large transaction reports (jurisdiction-specific thresholds), trade blotter export, counterparty exposure summary, regulatory trade reporting (MiFID II, EMIR where applicable).
OTC platforms serve institutional users who have higher expectations for reliability, auditability and counterparty privacy than retail exchange users.
OTC deals are legal agreements. Every step — RFQ submission, quote, counter-offer, acceptance — must be timestamped, immutably recorded, and exportable for dispute resolution. An OTC platform without a complete deal audit trail is not suitable for institutional use.
Axiom: IMMUTABLE DEAL RECORD
Institutional OTC traders do not want their trading activity visible to their counterparties beyond what is necessary for the deal. The platform must enforce privacy: LP A cannot see LP B quotes to the same client. Client position information is not visible to LPs beyond the current RFQ.
Axiom: INFORMATION BARRIERS BY DESIGN
OTC deals that reach the settlement stage but fail to settle (crypto transfer not confirmed, fiat payment not received) require a defined workflow: timeout escalation, deal cancellation, reversal. A platform without a settlement failure workflow will require manual intervention for every exception.
Axiom: PLAN FOR SETTLEMENT FAILURE
These choices define deal flow, counterparty experience and settlement reliability.
Impact: RFQ model for large block OTC. Streaming indicative prices for smaller transactions where the client wants to monitor market conditions before requesting a firm quote.
Impact: Custodial escrow model for most OTC platforms — it gives both parties settlement certainty without requiring simultaneous on-chain transactions. On-chain direct settlement for DeFi-native counterparties.
Impact: Disclosed at RFQ for most institutional OTC — LPs need to know the counterparty to price correctly (credit risk, regulatory restrictions). Anonymous matching is appropriate for smaller, standardised trades.
Full OTC desk platform — RFQ engine, deal workflow, settlement, compliance reporting, dealer tools.
API and web portal for institutional clients to access OTC pricing from multiple LPs with deal execution and settlement.
OTC desk functionality added to an existing centralised exchange — large block execution without order book impact.
OTC FX trading desk platform — streaming indicative prices, firm RFQ for execution, fiat settlement instructions, trade blotter.
Reliability and auditability over raw performance.
Stack: Node.js / Go backend, PostgreSQL (deal records), Event-sourced deal log, WebSocket (real-time quotes), Redis (quote expiry)
Stack: On-chain transfer monitor, Fiat payment instruction API, Escrow smart contract, Settlement timeout handler, Dual-leg confirmation
Stack: KYB onboarding (Jumio), Counterparty credit limits, Large txn reporting, Trade blotter export, EMIR/MiFID reporting
Stack: Live deal blotter, Settlement status board, LP analytics, Exposure dashboard, Deal audit export
Counterparty privacy and deal immutability are the security requirements institutional clients prioritise.
LP quotes are only visible to the requesting client and the platform operator — not to other LPs. Strict data segregation prevents LPs from seeing competitor quotes.
Every deal event is appended to an immutable log with cryptographic hash chaining. No deal record can be modified after creation — only new events (amendment, cancellation) can be added.
In custodial settlement model, the platform holds client assets between deal confirmation and settlement. These assets must be segregated from platform operating funds, not co-mingled.
RFQ model, settlement design, counterparty structure, compliance requirements.
KYB workflow, credit limit system, counterparty tier management.
Quote request, LP quote collection, negotiation workflow, deal confirmation.
On-chain monitoring, fiat instruction system, escrow, confirmation.
Deal blotter, settlement tracking, counterparty exposure, LP analytics.
Reporting outputs, KYB documentation, large transaction reporting.
Counterparty onboarding, LP connectivity testing, monitoring setup.
There is no technical minimum — the platform can handle any size. Commercial minimums are set by the operator based on LP relationships and deal economics. Most crypto OTC desks set minimums of $50K–$250K to ensure deal economics justify the workflow.
Yes. The LP integration layer supports multiple providers simultaneously. RFQ routing rules determine which LPs receive which requests based on asset, size and counterparty tier.
Every deal step is timestamped and immutably recorded. Disputes are resolved by reviewing the deal audit log — which party sent which quote, at what time, and what was accepted. The platform generates dispute evidence exports automatically.
A verified counterparty requests a quote for a specific asset pair and quantity. The system aggregates two-way executable quotes from connected liquidity providers and smart order routing algorithms in real time. The client receives a guaranteed price with a countdown execution window (e.g., 5 to 30 seconds). Upon client acceptance, the trade locks and downstream settlement instructions are generated immediately.
We implement Delivery-versus-Payment (DvP) and Atomic Settlement workflows. Funds can be held in institutional tri-party custody (e.g., Copper ClearLoop, Fireblocks Off-Exchange, or smart contract escrow) where neither party is exposed to unilateral counterparty default. Settlement triggers only when both fiat and digital asset funding confirmations are verified.
Yes. We provide native FIX (Financial Information eXchange) engines supporting FIX 4.2, 4.4, and 5.0 SP2 specifications alongside institutional REST and WebSocket APIs. Hedge funds, family offices, and proprietary trading desks can plug their existing algorithmic execution systems directly into your OTC liquidity pool.
The platform includes a comprehensive treasury management module that monitors pre-funding balances, intraday credit limits, and settlement status across multiple banking partners and digital currencies (USD, EUR, GBP, USDC, USDT). Automated rebalancing scripts alert operators when LP collateral thresholds require replenishment.
Yes. The platform generates automated end-of-day trade confirmations, transaction audit logs, counterparty risk metrics, and regulatory exports compliant with MiFID II transaction reporting, EMIR, and local jurisdictional requirements. All client communications, RFQ quotes, and post-trade reconciliations are archived with immutable timestamps.