Concepts

Crypto-Powered Commodities Trading

Open Mandi combines two worlds: traditional commodities trading and modern cryptocurrency. Instead of wiring money through a bank, you use stablecoins to trade gold and silver futures. Here's how it all fits together.

What are Stablecoins?

Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a stable value. Unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum, which can swing wildly in price, stablecoins are pegged to real-world currencies — usually the US dollar.

Open Mandi accepts USDC as its trading stablecoin:

• USDC (USD Coin) — a fully-reserved stablecoin backed by US dollar assets, where 1 USDC is designed to equal 1 US dollar

Why Use Stablecoins for Trading?

Using stablecoins instead of traditional money offers several advantages:

• Speed — crypto transactions settle in minutes, not days. Traditional bank wires can take 1-3 business days.
• Accessibility — anyone with an internet connection can participate. No need for a bank account or brokerage relationship.
• Transparency — blockchain transactions are publicly verifiable. You can confirm that deposits and withdrawals actually happened.
• Lower barriers — traditional futures brokers often require large minimum deposits. Open Mandi lets you start with as little as $5.

How Your Funds are Managed

When you deposit USDC into Open Mandi, your balance is tracked on the platform. Your funds are used as collateral for trading futures.

Every transaction — deposits, withdrawals, trades, and fees — is recorded in a transparent ledger that you can review at any time.

Settlement and Finality

When a trade is matched on Open Mandi, settlement happens immediately. There's no waiting period. Your balances are updated in real time, and your positions reflect current market prices.

This is a major advantage over traditional markets, where settlements can take two business days (known as T+2 settlement).

USDC-Only Collateral Model

Open Mandi uses a single-collateral model with USDC for deposits, margin, settlement, and withdrawals. This keeps accounting simple and makes risk calculations easier to reason about.

Advantages Over Traditional Brokerages