In an effort to professionalize access to digital derivatives, provider Rails announced the launch of its “Institutional-Grade Vaults” on the Stellar network this February 3, 2026. This infrastructure allows brokerages and fintech firms to connect to perpetual futures markets via a unified backend, integrating audited smart contracts to ensure the secure custody of assets.
Rails’ technical proposal focuses on the strict separation between the order-matching engine and fund custody, this being a determining factor in attracting institutional capital. According to Satraj Bambra, CEO of Rails, the platform seeks to mitigate counterparty risk through the segregation of client collateral, preventing assets from being mixed with the firm’s operating capital or that of market makers.
Mitigating operational risks through blockchain transparency
The design of these vaults directly addresses lessons learned from historic industry collapses, where a lack of transparency in omnibus accounts harmed users. By utilizing Stellar technology, Rails ensures that every 30 seconds, profits, losses, and fees are recorded onchain, representing a layer of verifiability that institutions can independently reconcile against their own internal records.
Furthermore, the choice of Stellar is not coincidental, as its decade-long track record working with banks and remittances provides a reputation for immediate finality and low transactional costs. This heritage is vital when handling smart contracts that custody tens of millions of dollars, ensuring that funds remain on the blockchain rather than on the exchange’s balance sheet.
Will onchain segregation convince large funds to finally enter the derivatives market?
On the other hand, the crypto derivatives market has reached astronomical figures, with an estimated annual volume of $85.7 trillion in 2025, according to CoinGlass data. However, the complexity of these instruments and leverage chains have elevated systemic risks, which is why Rails’ implementation emerges as a necessary solution to stabilize the risk transfer infrastructure in the sector.
In this way, Rails, which has already processed over $3.4 billion in volume, plans to expand its offering to options trading by the second quarter of 2026. The company is currently under the supervision of the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) and has begun the registration process with the U.S. National Futures Association (NFA), thus marking a clear path toward global regulatory compliance.
