Monolith and Ascend collaborate to create an end-to-end solution for institutional commodity derivatives in the United States

This collaboration combines the high-performance perpetual futures architecture of Monolith with the clearing infrastructure of Ascend to build an end-to-end architecture, aiming to enable eligible real-world assets to play a role in the institutional derivatives market.

New York, October 27, 2026 / PRNewswire / -- The commodity markets continue to operate, but the capital behind them is often not so case.

In the entire commodities sector, a large amount of value is tied up in physical inventories, and the capital associated with these assets is often difficult to mobilize. At the same time, collateral, margins, settlement, custody, and market execution are typically dispersed across different systems and institutions.

Monolith and Ascend are collaborating to integrate these functions onto the blockchain in order to enhance the capital efficiency of the entire system.

The goal of both parties is to create an institutional-level architecture that allows eligible real-world assets to be used as collateral and to be put into use in the secondary market, while maintaining a clear separation of functions among various aspects of the market.

Dual-layer architecture, an end-to-end system

Monolith and Ascend undertake different yet complementary roles in this collaboration.

Monolith is responsible for market operations, while Ascend is located at the clearing layer.

Monolith is seeking registration in the designated contract markets (DCM) of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) of the United States, and is developing an on-chain institutional derivatives trading venue, with an initial focus on sustainable futures for energy and commodities.

Monolith indicates that, leveraging the team's extensive experience in quantitative markets, including senior positions in Citigroup's fixed income, foreign exchange, and commodities business ( FICC ) as well as in the Citadel energy trading department, these cash-settled sustainable futures are designed to provide continuous exposure for energy benchmarks and complement regular contract futures used for hedging over specific calendar periods.

Ascend plans to act as the clearing layer for this trading venue through its on-chain tripartite clearing model. Ascend indicates that, together with its parent company, the firm can provide tokenization, collateralization, and clearing services, enabling idle capital to become qualified collateral on Monolith.

So-called end-to-end does not mean concentrating all functions within a single entity, but rather connecting different institutional functions so that assets, collateral, clearing, and markets can operate in coordination as part of the same framework.

Ascend CEO Dennis O said: 'Execution and settlement are two different issues, and this architecture is needed for both. Monolith is working on solving the execution problems of customized commodity contracts. We hold collateral, provide credit support based on it, and assume responsibility when the position moves unfavorably for one party. That is the settlement process, and that's why it must be built in conjunction with a regulated brokerage firm, rather than trying to bypass it.'

Turn idle assets into efficient collateral

Both parties stated that this collaboration aims to address a fundamental issue of capital efficiency in the physical market.

Taking a shipment of qualified crude oil in transit as an example, this cargo itself represents considerable economic value. However, until the processes of ownership, financing, insurance, and settlement are completed, the capital associated with this inventory may still be difficult to utilize.

The solutions being developed by Monolith and Ascend aim to enable eligible assets to be used as collateral through a clearing layer, and to reduce the collateralization process from weeks to just hours.

Ascend provides clearing infrastructure around these collateral, while Monolith offers a trading venue for putting these collaterals into use.

This also constitutes a common core viewpoint between the two parties: all capital should become efficient collateral.

Monolith CEO Kaleb Nunn stated: "Institutions do not need to prove once again that a certain asset can be tokenized. What they need is a trading platform that allows these assets to be released on the secondary market. Monolith and Ascend are working together to build this end-to-end solution, enabling tokenized assets to be mortgaged and put into use."

Learn more: monolith.finance