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Counterparty & custody

The honest headline: Origami trades as principal, so a fill carries counterparty exposure to the desk. This page lays out exactly what that means, the desk's controls, and your checklist.

The principal model, plainly

  • Your wallet stays yours. You connect a wallet you control. Origami never holds your wallet's keys and can't touch funds you haven't deposited.
  • A fill is custodial in-flight. To trade, you deposit to the desk's settlement address. From that moment until the desk settles, Origami holds your funds as principal — your counterparty. A missed settlement would be a dispute with the desk, not something a smart contract guarantees.
  • That's the trade-off for cross-network reach. A trustless on-chain venue can't natively cross BTC ↔ ETH ↔ SOL the way a principal desk can.

Size your exposure to what you're comfortable carrying against the desk through settlement.

Desk controls

  • On-chain deposit verification. A deposit clears only if it settles the exact quoted amount of the correct asset to the correct settlement address.
  • Finality buffer. The desk waits for a safe confirmation depth before settling, so a fill is never released against a deposit that could reorg out.
  • Manual settlement gate. Every settlement is broker-approved — nothing auto-fires.
  • Firm quotes. Your rate is locked at RFQ; settlement uses that figure, not a re-price.
  • One deposit, one fill. Each deposit tx settles exactly one trade — it can't be replayed to trigger multiple settlements.
  • Unique reference IDs per trade, so status and support are unambiguous.

Your checklist

  1. Only use the settlement address the app returns for the trade you just quoted. Never reuse an old one or one delivered out-of-band.
  2. Send the exact clip. An off-amount deposit won't auto-settle.
  3. Verify the settlement address and that it's valid on the buy-side network. Settlements are irreversible.
  4. Hold your reference ID until the trade reads Completed.
  5. Treat the desk as a counterparty — size accordingly.

Phishing & opsec

  • Origami will never DM you a different settlement address or ask for your seed phrase / private keys. No part of Origami ever needs your keys.
  • Confirm you're on the genuine Origami front-end before connecting or depositing.

If a trade looks off, stop and reach the desk with your reference ID before sending anything further.