Insights

Field notes on procedure, settlement and market structure

Written for people who close trades, not for search engines. No price predictions, no token promotion.

OTC desk or exchange: when a block trade is the right call

Slippage, signalling and settlement risk trade off differently above a certain size. Where that line sits, and how to work out your own.

5 min read

The two evidence types are not interchangeable, and most of what circulates as proof is neither. A short list of what actually stands up.

5 min read

Most parties presenting themselves as buyers are three links down a broker chain. Four questions separate the real ones in under ten minutes.

6 min read

Central bank pilots have been running for years. A look at what has been tested, what worked, and the constraints that stopped the rest.

6 min read

Multi-CBDC platforms target the correspondent banking chain directly. What that changes for private settlement, and what it does not.

7 min read

Two counterparties can agree on size, asset and discount and still never trade. The blocking constraint is usually the settlement sequence.

4 min read

Medium-term notes and standby letters of credit attract more fiction than any other asset class. A short verification list filters most of it.

5 min read

Withdrawal limits and unprovable ownership make custodial accounts the wrong place to hold inventory you intend to sell in size.

4 min read

Tranche settlement, proof of funds, proof of control: the mechanics that separate a closed block trade from a six-week email thread.

6 min read