CRX 101
CRX is a network for hedging FX with non-deliverable forwards, cash-settled in USDC or EURC. One onboarding admits the firm to the dealer network, the RFQ engine returns one firm quote per request, and smart contracts hold margin and settle every trade.
What is CRX
CRX is a network for hedging FX with non-deliverable forwards (NDFs), cash-settled in USDC or EURC. One onboarding admits a firm to trade every supported pair against the network. The network matches counterparties and runs margin, risk, and close-out. Each trade is a contract specified in the request: the pair, the tenor, and the size. The network returns a firm quote, and two signatures bind the trade. From that moment, the smart contracts manage collateral and settlement programmatically.
The instrument
CRX offers one instrument: the non-deliverable forward. An NDF locks an exchange rate today for a set future date; at maturity it measures the locked rate against the market fixing and settles the difference in cash. No foreign currency is delivered. The obligation is symmetric, with no premium and no up-front cost: above the locked rate the holder is paid the gap, below it the holder pays it (Settlement & Payout (~2 min)).
Four values fix at signing: the pair, the notional, the locked rate, and the maturity date. The contract computes every mark and the final payout from those four (Accepting a Quote (~2 min)).
The cash-settled NDF also supplies the underlying leg for firms that deliver real currency. Such a firm offers its customer a deliverable forward built on CRX: the NDF locks the rate, the firm's own spot conversion delivers the currency, and the two legs offset, leaving the firm no FX risk.
The three parts of CRX
Three parts make up CRX: standardized onboarding, an RFQ engine, and smart contracts.
Standardized onboarding
Every firm clears the same gate once: adherence to one standard agreement, the regulatory checks, and a wallet added to the on-chain allowlist the contract consults before any trade binds. One onboarding covers all supported pairs; a new pair is a new trade, not a new relationship.
RFQ engine
A taker asks for a price on a pair, a size, and a date. The network returns one firm, signed quote to accept or decline; acceptance signs the Terms (~2 min), and two signatures bind the position (Requesting a Quote (~2 min)).
Smart contracts
The contracts are the risk engine: collateral does the work a credit line used to do.
- Fund. A firm deposits stablecoin collateral into its on-chain account. The balance sits free until a trade locks part of it as margin.
- Bind. Both sides open the position in one transaction, each locking margin from its collateral.
- Mark. The contract settles profit and loss continuously at the live oracle mark, from collateral already locked (The Margin Engine (~3 min)).
- Settle. At maturity, the contract reads one oracle price, pays the difference in cash, and returns each side's margin (Oracle (~3 min)).