Rails
Rails is a regulated crypto derivatives platform offering centralized matching with on-chain custody for perpetuals and options, delivered via APIs and institutional vaults to brokerages, fintechs, and intermediaries.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2024
- HeadquartersGrand Cayman, Cayman Islands
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Rails does
Rails is a privately held cryptocurrency derivatives trading platform that combines a centralized matching engine with on-chain custody for perpetuals and (in development) options trading. The company was founded in 2023 and formally incorporated as Rails Limited in the Cayman Islands in 2024, with operational headquarters in Miami, Florida. Its core product is an API-first derivatives infrastructure stack delivered to brokerages, fintechs, and financial intermediaries as well as to self-serve traders via the trade.rails.xyz application. Supporting products include the Rails Explorer for cryptographically verifying on-chain transactions, Institutional Vaults on the Stellar network for segregated custody, and a multi-protocol API (REST, WebSocket, FIX) with a sandbox environment for integration testing. The underlying architecture separates order matching from custody and uses Merkle tree rollups posted on-chain to produce independently verifiable transaction records, while keeping execution at sub-millisecond latency with 99.99% platform uptime. As of February 2026, Rails reported processing over $3.4 billion in cumulative trading volume across 100 million-plus trades.
Rails monetizes primarily through transaction fees on derivatives contracts executed on its platform. The go-to-market is dual-track: an enterprise/B2B motion targeting regulated brokerages, fintechs, and intermediaries that want to offer crypto perpetuals without building the matching, custody, and regulatory stack themselves, and a self-serve retail interface at trade.rails.xyz. Customer segments include brokerages and financial intermediaries, fintech platforms, developers and trading firms (programmatic access via APIs), and institutional traders with on-chain verification needs. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, consistent with enterprise agreements. Rails has raised approximately $20.2 million across two disclosed rounds — a $6.2 million seed led by Slow Ventures in March 2024 and a $14 million round including Kraken in June 2025 — and holds regulatory credentials including CIMA VASP (#2092731) and securities investment business (#2126003) registration in the Cayman Islands, plus NFA Introducing Broker and CFTC registration via Rails Markets Inc. for U.S. access.
Rails firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Rails
- Legal name
- Rails Limited
- Website
- https://rails.xyz
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2024
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Rails is a regulated crypto derivatives platform offering centralized matching with on-chain custody for perpetuals and options, delivered via APIs and institutional vaults to brokerages, fintechs, and intermediaries.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Rails industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Crypto Derivatives Trading Infrastructure
- NAICS
- Securities and Commodity Contracts Intermediation and Brokerage (5231), Commodity Contracts Intermediation (52316), Commodity Contracts Intermediation (523160)
- SIC
- Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200), Commodity Contracts Brokers & Dealers (6221)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Derivatives Trading Venues (perps, futures, options) (FSAPADAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Institutional API Connectivity, OMS/EMS & FIX Gateways (FSADAJAJ), Crypto Derivatives Exchanges (Futures, Options & Perpetuals) (FSADAAAD)
Keywords
Where Rails is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Grand Cayman
- HQ country
- Cayman Islands
Offices2 records
Markets served
Rails business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Trading Fees: Rails generates revenue through trading fees on derivatives contracts executed through its platform. The platform facilitates perpetuals and options trading with fee structures applied to transactions.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels2 records
Rails product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Rails operates a regulated crypto derivatives trading platform that combines a centralized sub-millisecond matching engine with on-chain custody via audited smart contracts and Merkle tree rollups. The platform supports perpetuals and options trading, is offered to brokerages, fintechs, and intermediaries through a single API integration (REST, WebSockets, FIX), and is also accessible directly through a self-custodial trading interface. Institutional-grade vaults on the Stellar network provide ring-fenced, on-chain-reconciled custody for partner platforms.
Product overview
Rails is a regulated crypto derivatives trading platform combining centralized order execution with on-chain custody. The core platform consists of the Rails Trading Platform supporting perpetuals and options trading. Supporting products include the Rails Explorer for on-chain transaction verification, Institutional Vaults on Stellar for enterprise custody, and the Rails API for programmatic access. The platform processed over $3.4B in trading volume with 99.99% uptime and sub-millisecond order matching.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Rails Trading Platform Regulated crypto derivatives trading platform combining centralized order execution with on-chain custody, supporting perpetuals trading via a self-custodial trading interface accessible at trade.rails.xyz. Designed for brokerages, fintechs, institutional traders, and self-directed traders seeking institutional-grade execution with on-chain verifiability.
- Perpetuals Trading Self-custodial crypto perpetuals (perpetual futures) trading product offering leveraged derivatives with assets held in audited smart contracts and on-chain verification. Targeted at institutional and self-directed traders who want centralized-grade execution with transparent, self-custodied positions.
- Institutional Vaults (on Stellar) Institutional-grade vaults deployed on the Stellar network that enable brokerages, fintechs, and financial intermediaries to offer crypto perpetuals to their users without building matching or custody infrastructure. Client assets are ring-fenced from market-making capital and Rails' operating funds; P&L, fees, and liabilities are committed on-chain every 30 seconds as Merkle roots for independent reconciliation.
- Rails API Programmatic trading API providing REST APIs, WebSockets, real-time market data, and FIX protocol support for low-latency, high-throughput integrations. Enables brokerages, fintechs, developers, and trading firms to trade perpetuals programmatically, build trading automation, run market-making systems, and integrate derivatives into their products, with explicit rate limiting, DDoS mitigation, and authorized endpoints.
Companies that use Rails
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Rails technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature5 records
Rails partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Stellar Development FoundationcoreRails launched Institutional-Grade Vaults on the Stellar network, enabling brokerages and fintechs to access crypto perpetuals through Stellar's infrastructure. This expands Rails' multi-chain custody capabilities.
- InkcoreInk is a blockchain network where Rails deploys its smart contracts. The Rails smart contract is deployed on Ink at address 0xaF62124e3C0b915A687cF03908Ebaf584815c20E for on-chain transaction verification.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Rails competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Hyperliquid: Leading on-chain perpetuals exchange combining an order-book matching engine with on-chain settlement. Direct competitor to Rails in the hybrid CEX-DEX perpetuals category, with a similar performance-and-verifiability pitch to institutional and active traders.
- dYdX: Decentralized derivatives exchange offering perpetuals and margin trading via its own app-chain. Overlaps directly with Rails on crypto perpetuals venue, target customer (active and institutional traders), and API-first execution.
- GMX: Decentralized perpetual exchange using an on-chain liquidity pool model. Competes with Rails for derivatives trading volume on-chain, though with a different execution architecture (AMM-style vs. order-book).
- Aevo: Decentralized derivatives exchange focused on options and perpetuals trading with an order-book design. Closely comparable to Rails on product mix (perps + options) and institutional-grade API focus.
- Deribit: Leading institutional crypto options and futures exchange. Directly comparable to Rails' planned options launch, with established institutional derivatives franchise and overlapping API/B2B distribution.
Broad incumbents
- Bybit: Major centralized crypto derivatives exchange offering perpetuals, futures, and options. Overlaps with Rails on derivatives venue business and on serving institutional/API customers, but as a broad incumbent.
- OKX: Global centralized exchange with deep derivatives (perps, futures, options) and a unified API. Comparable to Rails in derivatives execution and institutional API offerings, but operates at much broader scale across spot, derivatives, and Web3.
- Binance: World's largest crypto exchange by volume, dominant in perpetuals and futures. A broad incumbent in the same derivatives category Rails targets, with overlapping institutional and API use cases.
Emerging players
- Paradex: Hybrid perpetuals DEX built on StarkNet, combining order-book execution with on-chain settlement. Closely aligned with Rails' hybrid CEX-DEX perpetuals thesis at an earlier stage.
- Drift Protocol: Solana-based perpetuals and derivatives DEX with order-book execution and on-chain settlement. Comparable to Rails on hybrid perpetuals venue, though focused on the Solana ecosystem.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Rails social profiles
Digital presenceRails compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance4 records
Rails financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Rails leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Rails subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Rails funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors5 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Rails M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Rails
What does Rails do?
Rails operates a regulated crypto derivatives trading platform that combines a centralized sub-millisecond matching engine with on-chain custody via audited smart contracts and Merkle tree rollups. The platform supports perpetuals and options trading, is offered to brokerages, fintechs, and intermediaries through a single API integration (REST, WebSockets, FIX), and is also accessible directly through a self-custodial trading interface. Institutional-grade vaults on the Stellar network provide ring-fenced, on-chain-reconciled custody for partner platforms.
Is Rails a public or private company?
Rails is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Rails founded?
Rails was founded in 2024. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Rails based?
Rails is headquartered in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.
How does Rails make money?
One revenue line is on record: trading Fees.
Who are Rails's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Hyperliquid, dYdX, GMX, Aevo and Deribit. Broad incumbents are Bybit, OKX and Binance. Emerging players are Paradex and Drift Protocol.
Does Rails have an API?
Yes. Rails provides REST APIs, WebSockets, real-time market data, and FIX protocol support for programmatic trading. The API enables trading automation, market-making systems, and derivatives integration with enterprise-grade connectivity built for low-latency, high-throughput. A sandbox environment mirrors production for end-to-end testing before going live. Developer documentation is at docs.rails.xyz.
What industry is Rails in?
Rails's product category is Crypto Derivatives Trading Infrastructure. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAPADAE, Derivatives Trading Venues (perps, futures, options), with a secondary code of FSADAJAJ, Institutional API Connectivity, OMS/EMS & FIX Gateways. Its NAICS code is 5231 and its SIC code is 6200.