Polychain and Variant-backed ‘neo-brokerage’ Cascade wants to open 24/7 perps trading for any asset class
DeFi startup Cascade, backed by Polychain and Variant, is launching a neo-brokerage for 24/7 perpetual trading across all asset classes.Summary
Cascade, a DeFi startup that recently secured $15 million in seed funding led by Polychain and Variant, is rolling out its "neo-brokerage" platform designed to support 24/7 perpetual (perps) trading for diverse assets, including real-world commodities and tokenized pre-IPO equities like OpenAI and SpaceX.
The protocol aims to offer a centralized exchange (CEX)-level user experience, making it feel native to Web2, which contrasts with existing Web3-focused perps platforms. To facilitate this, Cascade integrated Stripe's Bridge to enable seamless fiat on- and off-ramping via direct bank account connections, allowing users to deposit fiat using standard logins like Privy or Gmail.
Cascade plans to launch its mainnet in Q1 2026, starting with about 10 perpetual markets. The platform uses a non-custodial matcher for off-chain price discovery and order matching, ensuring sub-second execution, while an on-chain perps contract acts as the enforcer for trade settlement. Co-founder Kevin hinted at future integration of a card issuer, allowing users to spend funds directly from their trading balance, unifying their Web2 and Web3 financial experiences.
(Source：The Block)