CurveBlock
Platforms that support secondary trading can adopt a variety of market structures. Continuous orderbooks match incoming buy and sell orders in real time, giving visible depth and an ongoing market price. Periodic auctions or batch trading concentrate liquidity at set intervals and can reduce the impact of thin order flow. Over‑the‑counter (OTC) block trades allow large holders to move positions with negotiated counterparties, often involving brokers or designated liquidity providers.
Market makers and designated liquidity providers play a central role where natural retail flow is thin. They post two‑sided prices, narrow spreads and absorb short‑term imbalances, but their presence is not a guarantee of deep liquidity. Rules for tick sizes, minimum order sizes and pre‑trade transparency affect execution quality. For tokenised shares, settlement finality and reconciliation speed are also important: settlement delays can increase counterparty and operational risk, while faster settlement reduces intraday exposure.
Clearing and settlement arrangements must be robust and clearly disclosed. Whether the platform uses atomic on‑chain settlement, a central counterparty, or an intermediary nominee structure affects counterparty risk and the speed of ownership transfer. Reconciliation processes and audit trails are essential for dispute resolution and for investors to confirm executed trades and holdings.
Retail savers considering fractional digital fund shares should investigate the specific secondary market mechanism a platform offers, the presence and role of market makers, expected settlement times and any limits on trade sizes or timing. Liquidity design choices materially influence how easy it is to realise an investment and at what cost.