Where does the desk's liquidity come from?
From the crypto liquidity providers the FX module already connects to, such as B2C2, Wintermute, Cumberland, Coinbase Prime and Kraken. The desk compares their prices, quotes your clients with your margin on top, and keeps quoting if one source stalls. Your own counterparties connect the same way.
How are trades settled?
The cash leg arrives by bank transfer, and the ledger matches it to the trade. The crypto leg leaves your custody, on Fireblocks, BitGo, Copper or your own keys, for the client's whitelisted address, under your withdrawal policies and approvals. A sale runs the other way, starting with coins at the client's deposit address, screened before they are credited. Clients who keep balances with you can settle against them in the ledger.
Who sets the prices and the limits?
You do, in the backoffice: a margin for each asset and client tier, how long a quote stays firm, and limits per client and per trade. Clients see one all-in price, and every trade and every change of setting is on record.
What about licensing and compliance?
Dealing in crypto for clients is regulated, and so is holding it for them. In the EU it takes authorisation as a crypto-asset service provider under MiCA; in Dubai, a VARA licence for broker-dealer services; in Abu Dhabi Global Market, permission from the FSRA. Some desks launch under a licensed partner first. The desk ships with KYB and KYC, sanctions and wallet screening, transaction monitoring, Travel Rule messaging and MiCA and DAC8 reporting, configured for your legal setup.
Which parts are built for my desk?
The request-for-quote screens: the request, the firm quote with its countdown, and the acceptance. They are built on modules already in production: the FX module's quotes and liquidity, custody, market data and the ledger. The work is the client-facing flow, not the trading core, and onboarding, compliance and the backoffice are configured for you.
Do I really own 100% of the desk?
Yes. On launch you receive the full source code of the client app, the quote and settlement flows, the liquidity and custody integrations and the backoffice, with infrastructure configuration and documentation. There is no licensing fee, no revenue share and no lock-in.
