Forwards | Trade Now, Settle Later: Unlocking Liquidity in DeFi

Trade Now, Settle Later: Unlocking Liquidity in DeFi

Founded: 2023

Contact: team@forwards.zone

Problem Statement

DeFi Trading is Broken—Atomic Settlement is the Culprit

Fragmented Liquidity

Users struggle navigating numerous DEXs and CEXs across multiple chains to find the best prices

Capital Inefficiency

Atomic settlement requires 100% pre-funding, locking up capital unnecessarily

Limited Trading Options

Impossible to trade assets with future availability (staked tokens, vesting assets)

Cross-Chain Complexity

Bridging assets is risky, time-consuming, and technical

MEV & Privacy Vulnerabilities

On-chain trading exposes users to front-running and reveals wallet holdings

Native BTC Trading

No truly decentralized way to trade native Bitcoin without bridging first

RWAs & Illiquids: P2P

Trading of tokens not suitable for CLOBs or AMMs

The Opportunity: Short-Dated Forwards

New Strategies Unlocked by Asynchronous Trade & Settlement

Price Locking

Lock in asset prices today for future delivery in mins/hrs/days

Delegated PoS Assets

Trade staked assets for future delivery post-unstaking

Vesting Tokens

Secure prices for locked Team/VC tokens without doxxing

Native BTC Trading

Trade BTC in cold storage, settle privately via trustless bridge

Future Yield Monetization

Lock in prices for staking, mining, or farming rewards

Hedging & Shorting

Hedge or short BTC/ETH/SOL with fixed-price agreements

Vision & Mission

Vision

To become the decentralized clearing house for all digital assets across all blockchains.

Mission

Reimagine DeFi trading with capital-efficient, cross-chain forward contracts that separate trade execution from settlement.

Solution Overview

Forward Contracts

Agreement now, settlement later (minutes to days)

Partial Collateralization

Only 1-10% of trade value required upfront

Asynchronous Settlement

Deliver assets at agreed time after execution

Cross-Chain Native

Trade any token for any other token across any chain

Single Interface

Access global liquidity through one unified platform

Market Opportunity

Unlocking Liquidity Across Emerging and Established Markets

Locked & Vesting Assets
Unlock liquidity in staked, vesting, and locked tokens to fund operations or seize market opportunities.
Bitcoin Trading
Enable decentralized Bitcoin trading while preserving cold storage security and minimizing bridging risk.
Real-World Assets (RWAs)
Tap into the $50B tokenized asset market, projected to exceed $10T by 2030, unlocking new liquidity opportunities.
Future Yield Monetization
Monetize staking, mining, and farming rewards before they're realized to unlock immediate liquidity.
Capital Efficiency for Market Makers
Increase trading capacity through partial collateralization, reducing upfront capital requirements.

New Market Targeted by forwards

Product Features

1

Market Orders

Instant execution with competitive pricing and future settlement

2

Limit Orders

Set price, validity period, and settlement terms with minimal collateral

3

Cross-Chain Settlement

Receive assets directly to your preferred wallet on any chain

Target Market & Use Cases

Unlocking Liquidity Across Key DeFi Participants

Target Users	Key Use Cases
Retail Traders	Trade locked/staked tokens; buy tokens at discounts
VCs & Angel Investors	Forward-sell vesting tokens; lock in profits privately or via intermediaries.
Teams & Developers	Forward-sell vesting tokens to access liquidity anonymously or privately.
Foundations & Treasuries	Fund operations and growth by selling future vesting tokens, staking rewards, or protocol revenue streams.
Market Makers & Liquidity Providers	Short tokens with fixed costs; offset risk; earn spread; earn revenue as intermediaries or guarantors. Minimal capital required
Institutions (TradFi & Crypto)	Trade with KYC/AML-compliant counterparties; use fixed-rate hedging tools and forward contracts.
Validators & Miners	Lock in prices for staking/mining rewards; hedge future revenue streams.
DeFi Farmers & Yield Optimizers	Sell or hedge farming rewards; monetize future yields from DeFi campaigns.

Technology Architecture

Optimized for High-Performance DeFi Trading Across BTCfi, RWAs, and Ethereum.

Custom Appchain Design

Built using Cosmos SDK and Tendermint Consensus for sub-second block times, tailored for short-term forwards trading.

Flexible Deployment

Operates as a standalone PoS blockchain or integrates as a rollup secured by Celestia or Bitcoin (via Babylon).

Cross-Chain Connectivity

Trustless bridges to BTCfi and RWA chains, with IBC links to Ethereum and prominent platforms like Ondo and Noble.

Seamless Integration

Designed to unlock liquidity and enable secure trading across diverse asset classes with high scalability.

Unique Features

Bespoke logic built into the blockchain

Order Matching

Central coordination layer

Collateral Management System

Efficient capital utilization

Cross-Chain Settlement Protocol

Secure delivery verification

Reputation System

Track trader fulfilment records

Anti-Default Measures

Escrow, reputational badges and buy-ins

FWD Token

Governance and order creation rights

Obligation Trading

Executed but not settled contracts can be novated

How it Works

Mechanism Behind Asynchronous Trade & Settlement

Order Creation

User creates a forward contract with specific terms and chooses the matching method (auction, limit or market order).

Matching

Order is matched with a counterparty. Terms of the contract are confirmed.

Contract Created

Escrow is secured from both parties, and the forward contract is finalized with delivery terms set.

Delivery Period

Tokens are delivered as per contract terms. Early or partial settlement is possible if permitted.

Fullfillment

Completion of the contract with final exchange of tokens. Escrow is released upon settlement.

Watch the MVP at product demo to see Forwards in action.

Business Model

Transaction Fees

Small percentage on executed trades

Order Creation Fees

Nominal fee for limit orders (reducible via FWD staking)

Settlement Fees

Fees for cross-chain settlement verification

Yield Generation

Optional yield on escrowed assets during settlement periods

Ecosystem Overview

Forwards connects to all major verticals enabling asynchronous,
trustless and permissionsless trade agreement & settlement

graph LR A("Bitcoin

") -->|"BTC Trustless Bridge (coming soon)"| B("BTCfiBabylonSide

") B <-->|IBC| F("Forwards

") P("PrivacyNamadaPenumbra

") <-->|IBC| F F -->|IBC| R("Real World AssetsOndoNoble

") F -->|IBC Eureka| E("EthereumSolana(coming soon)

") style A fill:#1A1A1A,stroke:#40E0D088,stroke-width:2px,color:#FAFAFA style B fill:#1A1A1A,stroke:#40E0D088,stroke-width:2px,color:#FAFAFA style F fill:#1A1A1A,stroke:#40E0D088,stroke-width:2px,color:#FAFAFA style P fill:#1A1A1A,stroke:#40E0D088,stroke-width:2px,color:#FAFAFA style R fill:#1A1A1A,stroke:#40E0D088,stroke-width:2px,color:#FAFAFA style E fill:#1A1A1A,stroke:#40E0D088,stroke-width:2px,color:#FAFAFA

Competitive Landscape

Feature	Forwards	Traditional DEXs	Aggregators	CEXs
Capital Efficiency	1-10% collateral	100% pre-funding	100% pre-funding	Variable margin
Cross-Chain Native	Seamless	No	Limited	Yes but centralized
Trading Future Assets	Yes	No	No	Limited
Privacy & MEV Protection	Enhanced	Vulnerable	Vulnerable	But centralized
Native BTC Trading	Direct	Wrapped only	Wrapped only	But custodial
NFT Trading Across Chains	Seamless	No	Limited	But centralized

Go-to-Market Strategy

Phased Execution to Drive Liquidity, Adoption, and Growth.

Phase 1: Launch

Focus: BTC, ETH, SOL & tokens with large locked & non-circulating

“Trade Now, Settle Later” MVP

Early user incentives (airdrops, rewards)

Onboard market makers, liquidity providers, institutions

Awareness: roadshows, podcasts, partnerships

Phase 2: Expansion

Trustless Bridge BTC Trading (via Bablyon)

Advanced UI & features

Add RWAs & NFTs

Enhanced incentive programs

Phase 3: Scale

Institutional adoption

Expand wallet/infrastructure partnerships

New asset classes

Global awareness campaigns

Metrics for success

Trading volume - Fees - Unique/repeat users - TVL in escrow - Unincentivized adoption - Bridging volume

Traction & Roadmap

Forwards has made significant progress and has a clear roadmap for the future.

✓ Completed Milestones

Concept validation with industry experts

Technical architecture design

Initial partnerships secured

Core team assembled

Core development started

Q2 2025

Testnet Launch

Audit

Q3 2025

Mainnet Launch with Initial Asset Pairs

Q4 2025

Cross-chain Integrations Complete

Q1 2026

Full Feature Set Live

Team — Refracted Labs

Veteran team of DeFi builders and financial experts, bringing traditional finance expertise and Web3 innovation together to revolutionize digital asset trading.

Olly

Co-Founder & CEO

Ex-Goldman Sachs & JPMorgan. 10+ years trading derivatives, high-yield, and distressed debt with top HFs & PE firms

Mo

Co-Founder & CTO

Led engineering for $20B AUM DeFi protocol.
6+ years blockchain, appchains, and DeFi infrastructure expert.

Core Team

Core Team Refractedlabs

Elite engineers, designers, mathematicians.
Built: money markets, yield tokenization, synthetic stocks, AMMs, TWAPs, Auctions etc.

Bootstrapped community from Refracted Labs projects, primed for Forwards

500k+ Delegating Addresses | Validators Live in 7 Networks | 140k Twitter | 70k Discord

Fundraising

We are raising $2 million for 10% of the Genesis token supply.

Raising $2 Million for 10% of Genesis Token Supply

50%

Core product development

15%

Community Building and Marketing

15%

Business development & partnerships

10%

Operations & legal

5%

Security audits and testing

5%

Reserve and Contingency

Investment Thesis

First Mover

Pioneering asynchronous settlement in DeFi

Market Size

Targeting trillion-dollar forward contract market

Network Effects

Value increases with each new user and market maker

Capital Efficiency

Unlocking 10x more capital for the ecosystem

Cross-Chain Future

Positioned for the multi-chain reality of blockchain

Future of Trading

Not all assets should be on a CLOB or in an AMM - illiquids & RWAs

Join the Future of DeFi Trading

Be part of revolutionizing DeFi trading with the first truly decentralized forward contract platform.

Contact Us

Problem Statement

DeFi Trading is Broken—Atomic Settlement is the Culprit

Fragmented Liquidity

Capital Inefficiency

Limited Trading Options

Cross-Chain Complexity

MEV & Privacy Vulnerabilities

Native BTC Trading

RWAs & Illiquids: P2P

The Opportunity: Short-Dated Forwards

New Strategies Unlocked by Asynchronous Trade & Settlement

Price Locking

Delegated PoS Assets

Vesting Tokens

Native BTC Trading

Future Yield Monetization

Hedging & Shorting

Vision & Mission

Vision

Mission

Solution Overview

Forward Contracts

Partial Collateralization

Asynchronous Settlement

Cross-Chain Native

Single Interface

Market Opportunity

Unlocking Liquidity Across Emerging and Established Markets

Product Features

Market Orders

Limit Orders

Cross-Chain Settlement

Target Market & Use Cases

Unlocking Liquidity Across Key DeFi Participants

Technology Architecture

Optimized for High-Performance DeFi Trading Across BTCfi, RWAs, and Ethereum.

Custom Appchain Design

Flexible Deployment

Cross-Chain Connectivity

Seamless Integration

Unique Features

Bespoke logic built into the blockchain

Order Matching

Collateral Management System

Cross-Chain Settlement Protocol

Reputation System

Anti-Default Measures

FWD Token

Obligation Trading

How it Works

Mechanism Behind Asynchronous Trade & Settlement

Order Creation

Order Creation

Matching

Matching

Contract Created

Contract Created

Delivery Period

Delivery Period

Fullfillment

Fullfillment

Business Model

Transaction Fees

Order Creation Fees

Settlement Fees

Yield Generation

Ecosystem Overview

Forwards connects to all major verticals enabling asynchronous,trustless and permissionsless trade agreement & settlement

Competitive Landscape

Go-to-Market Strategy

Phased Execution to Drive Liquidity, Adoption, and Growth.

Traction & Roadmap

Forwards has made significant progress and has a clear roadmap for the future.

✓ Completed Milestones

Team — Refracted Labs

Olly

Co-Founder & CEO

Mo

Co-Founder & CTO

Core Team

Forwards connects to all major verticals enabling asynchronous,
trustless and permissionsless trade agreement & settlement