Request for Quote (RFQ)

How an RFQ Runs

The client sends a request that specifies the asset or pair, the side (buy or sell, or a two-way request that hides direction), the quantity, and often the settlement currency. The liquidity provider responds with a price that is executable for the full size until the quote expires. The client accepts, rejects, or lets the quote lapse. On acceptance, both sides have a binding trade, and settlement proceeds under the terms already agreed between the parties.

Digital asset RFQs run over private channels: a trading portal, a FIX or REST API, or a secure chat. Institutional desks automate the full lifecycle so that a request, a quote, an acceptance, and a settlement instruction are each timestamped and auditable.

Why Desks Use RFQ for Size

An order book shows a price only for the quantity displayed at each level. A block that exceeds displayed depth walks the book, and every fill after the first reveals intent to other participants. An RFQ moves that problem to the liquidity provider, which prices the whole block against its own inventory and hedging capacity. The client pays a spread that reflects the provider's risk of working the position, but receives a single price with no market impact of its own making.

The same structure appears in traditional markets. In U.S. swaps markets, the CFTC's rules for swap execution facilities recognize RFQ as an execution method alongside order books, which is one reason institutional desks arriving from rates and credit find digital asset RFQ familiar.

What to Compare Across Quotes

Two quotes for the same size are comparable only on the same terms: the same settlement currency, the same settlement timing, and the same treatment of fees. A quote that looks tighter but settles later, or that requires pre-funding, carries costs that the price alone does not show.