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.”