Pho Protocol
2 known investors
Rho operates a multi-asset trading and settlement platform for on-chain capital markets, letting institutions trade rates, perpetuals, and tokenized real-world assets from a single margin account with off-exchange collateral control. It offers atomic EVM settlement, KYC-gated ERC-4626 vaults, and API access via REST, WebSocket, and FIX for institutional trading desks and risk committees.
Also known as Rho · Rho Protocol · rho.trading
Investors · 2
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Rho (rho.trading) provides on-chain trading infrastructure aimed at institutional participants, describing itself as a multi-asset trading and settlement layer for on-chain capital markets. The platform covers interest rate markets, perpetuals and tokenized real-world assets, all tradable from a single margin account with positions marked to market in real time and netted against one collateral pool. The company describes itself as a category leader in rates.
The product suite is organised into five components under one venue: Trading (rates, perps and RFQ, RWA); Off-Exchange Collateral, where collateral remains on-chain, in a self-custody wallet, or in segregated institutional custody such as BitGo OES, with PnL settled at risk-based levels and intervals; Relay, a private RFQ execution and settlement service combining atomic settlement on EVM with a private compliance record on Canton visible only to the user, counterparties and auditors; Vaults, ERC-4626 vaults with KYC-gating, whitelists and jurisdiction limits enforced at the contract level and run by curators; and Infrastructure, providing unified collateral, zero-gas execution and REST, WebSocket and FIX (in development) connectivity.
The company reports more than $60 billion in cumulative volume traded, over three years live in production, $6.2 million raised from venture investors and traders, and three independent security audits.
Business model
Rho operates as a venue and infrastructure provider for institutional on-chain trading, bundling execution, settlement and collateral management into a single account. Its stated model centres on providing trading markets (rates, perpetuals and RFQ, tokenized real-world assets), off-exchange collateral arrangements where assets remain in customer custody or segregated institutional custody, private RFQ execution and settlement (Relay), curated ERC-4626 vaults, and connectivity infrastructure. The company's site does not detail pricing or fee structures.
Traction
The company reports more than $60 billion in cumulative volume traded, verifiable on-chain; more than three years live in production; $6.2 million raised from venture investors and traders; and three independent security audits.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography
Market position
Rho presents itself as an institutional venue for on-chain capital markets and claims category leadership in on-chain rates markets, citing over $60 billion in cumulative traded volume and more than three years in production.
Rho positions its offering around institutional control and compliance: collateral held off-exchange in custody, a self-custody wallet or on-chain rather than at the venue, described as reducing counterparty risk; atomic EVM settlement paired with a private, permissioned record on Canton providing sub-transaction privacy and an audit trail granted on demand rather than publicly exposed; compliance constraints such as KYC-gating, whitelists and jurisdiction limits enforced directly in vault contracts; and netting of rates and perpetuals from a single margin account. The company also cites independently verifiable on-chain reporting of positions for risk committees.
Technology
The platform combines EVM-based atomic settlement with a private settlement record on Canton offering sub-transaction privacy and permissioned audit access. Vaults use the ERC-4626 standard with KYC-gating, whitelists and jurisdictional restrictions enforced at the contract level. Collateral can be held on-chain, in a self-custody wallet, or via off-exchange settlement arrangements with institutional custody (BitGo OES). Execution supports RFQ, atomic settlement and zero-gas transactions, with API connectivity over REST and WebSocket, and FIX under development. The venue lists funding-rate markets referencing Hyperliquid, Bybit, Binance, OKX and Deribit BTC, ETH and SOL funding, with dated expiries.
Go-to-market
Rho markets directly to institutional desks, with site calls to action to contact the team, launch the app and read the documentation. It targets three stated mandates: asset and treasury managers, trading firms and market makers, and payments and digital-asset rails providers, and highlights backing from and settlement alongside trading firms and institutions.
Institutional participants in on-chain markets: asset and treasury managers seeking compliance-gated on-chain yield with segregated custody; trading firms and market makers wanting a single margin account across rates and perps with off-exchange settlement and REST/WebSocket/FIX connectivity; and payments and digital-asset rails businesses needing private, atomic, compliant settlement of tokenized assets.
Geography
Not specified in available sources.
Compiled by commissioned research from 3 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
▸Research sources · 3
primary sources listed
- Pho Protocolrho.trading · web
3 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Pho Protocol do?
- Rho is an institutional on-chain trading and settlement venue for rates, perpetuals and tokenized real-world assets.
- Who are Pho Protocol's investors?
- Pho Protocol's investors include CoinFund, Edessa Capital.