Sei Labs and Monaco Research unveil open-source CLOB with microsecond execution, revenue sharing for builders, and 200,000x faster settlement than traditional markets

Monaco, a new decentralized trading protocol incubated by Sei Labs and Monaco Research, announced the launch of its institutional-grade central limit order book (CLOB) infrastructure on the Sei blockchain. The protocol aims to capture a significant portion of the projected $30 trillion tokenized asset market by 2034, offering Wall Street-caliber execution speeds with the transparency and accessibility of decentralized finance.

Monaco represents the realization of Sei’s founding vision as a dedicated layer for high-performance decentralized trading, achieving microsecond execution coupled with Sei’s 400-millisecond settlement—a 200,000x improvement over traditional T+1 settlement cycles.

“Traditional finance is broken. Intermediaries extract billions in fees, markets close when you need them most, and access is restricted by geography and wealth,” said Jay Jog, Co-Founder of Sei Labs. “We’re building something better: Wall Street-grade decentralized trading infrastructure that operates 24/7, treats all participants fairly, and unlocks a new design space for high-performance trading platforms.”

Addressing the Tokenization Megatrend

The launch comes as major financial leaders predict massive growth in tokenized assets. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently projected stablecoins alone could grow into a $3.7 trillion market by decade’s end. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has stated that tokenization “will revolutionize investing,” while Standard Chartered’s Global Head of Trade Kai Fehr expects tokenized real-world assets to reach $30.1 trillion by 2034.

Monaco’s infrastructure is designed to handle this explosive growth with:

• Microsecond Execution: Matching the performance of NASDAQ and NYSE
• Shared Liquidity Layer: Enabling any application to tap into deep institutional liquidity
• PitPass Revenue Sharing: Automatically compensating builders for order flow
• 24/7 Operation: Supporting round-the-clock trading of crypto, RWAs, prediction markets, and in-game economies

Revolutionary PitPass Model Democratizes Order Flow

Unlike traditional payment for order flow (PFOF) arrangements that cost retail traders billions annually, Monaco’s PitPass system transparently shares revenue with applications that bring trading volume to the protocol. Exchanges, wallets, games, and other applications can integrate Monaco’s liquidity in minutes and automatically earn fees from the trades they facilitate—without negotiating commercial agreements or sacrificing best execution for their users.

“Monaco doesn’t just level the playing field, it rebuilds it entirely in favor of traders and builders,” added Jeff Feng, Co-Founder of Sei Labs. “By eliminating the conflicts of interest inherent in traditional market structure, we ensure every trade gets best execution while fairly compensating the applications that contribute to our ecosystem.”

Compounding Network Effects Drive Adoption

Monaco’s architecture creates powerful network effects where increased adoption leads to deeper liquidity, tighter spreads, and better pricing—attracting more builders and traders in a virtuous cycle. Early integration partners span multiple sectors:

• Decentralized Exchanges: Spot and perpetual futures trading with up to 100x leverage
• Prediction Markets: Transparent settlement mechanisms for event-based trading
• Gaming Economies: Real-time marketplaces for in-game assets
• Traditional Financial Institutions: API access to 24/7 crypto and tokenized asset trading
• Wallets: One-click integration to offer trading without infrastructure investment

Launch Support Programs

To accelerate ecosystem growth, Monaco is introducing several initiatives:

• Launch to List Program: Partnership with launchpads to support token generation events (TGEs) with marketing exposure, liquidity incentives, and engineering automation
• Builder Grants: Funding for innovative applications leveraging Monaco’s infrastructure
• Market Maker Incentives: Programs to ensure deep liquidity across all supported assets

Technical Specifications

Monaco achieves its breakthrough performance through:

• Optimized order matching algorithms running on dedicated infrastructure
• Direct integration with Sei’s 400ms finality for near-instant settlement
• Support for complex order types including portfolio margin across spot and derivatives
• Native cross-chain capabilities for multi-chain asset support

Source: Monaco