Transaction marks major milestone as traditional credit markets embrace blockchain-native settlement and custody infrastructure
Dubai, December 16th – Presto, a leading digital assets financial services firm, announced today that it has successfully participated in the pilot launch of SemiLiquid's Programmable Credit Protocol (PCP), one of the earliest institutional credit facilities executed natively on a public blockchain. The transaction, conducted on Avalanche and unveiled at Abu Dhabi Finance Week 2025, represents a significant milestone in bringing traditional credit markets on-chain with full regulatory compliance and institutional-grade security.
As both an early investor in SemiLiquid from day one and a participant in the pilot program, Presto demonstrated how institutions can now access credit against tokenized collateral without transferring assets out of custody. This fundamental advancement preserves security while unlocking capital efficiency. The pilot also featured participation from Franklin Templeton, Zodia Custody, M11 Credit, and CMS, with Franklin Templeton's tokenized money-market fund BENJI serving as programmable collateral.
Sean Kim, Head of Sales and Trading at Presto, said "traditional credit markets have operated on decades-old settlement workflows that create friction and counterparty risk. By participating as a borrower in this pilot, we've demonstrated that institutional credit can operate natively on-chain with the same enforceability standards the market demands, but with dramatically improved efficiency. This is the future of institutional lending arriving in production-ready form."
The pilot showcased how PCP enables lenders to maintain enforceable security over tokenized assets while borrowers retain custody and continue earning yield. This eliminates the need for collateral transfers that have historically introduced operational complexity and counterparty exposure. The custody-native architecture ensures that traditional credit transactions can now benefit from blockchain's transparency, programmability, and real-time settlement while preserving institutional standards for legal enforceability.
Rico van der Veen, Co-Founder and CEO of SemiLiquid, added "Presto's participation as both an early investor and pilot borrower validates our thesis that institutions are ready to move beyond proof-of-concept and into production deployment of programmable credit infrastructure. Their commitment from day one has been instrumental in bringing PCP from vision to reality."
This milestone follows broader industry momentum toward bringing real-world financial instruments on-chain, with recent transactions including commercial paper issuances and tokenized treasury products gaining institutional adoption. Presto's participation in the PCP pilot underscores the firm's strategic focus on supporting infrastructure that bridges traditional finance with blockchain technology, creating more efficient and transparent capital markets.
The successful pilot positions SemiLiquid's Programmable Credit Protocol for Phase II expansion in early 2026, which will integrate additional custodians, collateral types, and jurisdictions. As tokenized assets are projected to reach $10 trillion by 2030, Presto's early involvement in programmable credit infrastructure positions the firm at the forefront of institutional digital asset adoption.
About Presto
Founded in 2014, Presto is an algorithmic trading and financial services firm with a global presence. Presto focuses on delivering exceptional value for clients through a rigorous research-driven approach to investment and trade execution. With more than a 100 million trade executions in a day, Presto is a leading financial services firm in both digital assets and traditional finance markets.
About SemiLiquid
SemiLiquid delivers the infrastructure powering the next evolution of institutional credit. Built on custody-native rails, its Programmable Credit Protocol (PCP) standardizes and automates bilateral lending – bringing the trust of traditional finance and the efficiency of programmable markets to a unified, compliant, and interoperable credit ecosystem.