Crypto Markets Don’t Sleep, Safety Shouldn’t Either

Every innovation cycle in crypto has centered around speed: faster trades, faster transfers, faster growth. Despite 24/7 digital trading, fiat liquidity is still trapped in banking hours, deposit caps, and balance-sheet risk. 

As digital markets mature, the next breakthrough needs to evolve beyond speed. It needs to address sustainable infrastructure and safer systems that move quickly, yet anchor value in regulated, transparent, real-world assets. 

The Old Model: Credit-Dependent Infrastructure

Institutional finance was built on balance-sheet trust. Bank deposits depend on a commercial bank's solvency. Money market funds pool risk across multiple counterparties. Both separate liquidity from safety, forcing institutions to choose between access and protection. In crypto, this same trade-off persists: stablecoins and custodial wallets deliver on-chain speed but rely on off-chain deposits and fund managers, reintroducing the very credit risk and opacity that decentralization was meant to solve. 

This credit-based approach introduces friction, uncertainty, and operational exposure in an always-on market - precisely where resilience should prevail. When banks fail and liquidity freezes, balance-sheet reliance quickly turns into system-wide distrust. In a world that moves 24/7, safety can no longer depend on someone else’s balance sheet.

Safety and Liquidity Shouldn’t Be a Trade-off

Treasurers and finance teams build detailed investment policies, implement layered strategies, and maintain a range of mitigants to keep funds both safe and accessible. The issue isn’t the lack of discipline or sophistication - it’s the limitation of the instruments available.

Jiko’s latest Corporate Cash Confidence Survey revealed that while credit-dependent vehicles like bank deposits and money market funds remain the most common vehicles for safeguarding cash, only 27% of those respondents expressed strong confidence in their ability to protect funds during a crisis.

Treasurers, along with leading investors like Warren Buffett, recognize that the safest foundation for cash is direct ownership of ultra-short-term U.S. Treasury bills. In fact, 66% of treasurers indicated they view direct T-bill ownership as safer than their current cash management approach. What’s been missing is a way to access and manage that safety with the speed, automation, and precision today’s digital asset industry demands.

Autonomous Agent-Driven Settlement - at Market Speed

Jiko provides an alternative to today’s credit-dependent and pooled cash structures with direct, programmable ownership of ultra short-duration U.S. Treasury bills, the world’s safest asset held in custody under Jiko’s regulated bank-and-broker-dealer framework, in each client’s name. 

Autonomous T-bill agents form the foundation of JikoNet Crypto: a safe, scalable settlement network where every transaction is backed by direct T-bill ownership. Powered by the autonomous agents, the network connects participants across a unified system that delivers round-the-clock liquidity and yield, without intermediaries and cut-off times.

When two participants transact, the autonomous agents trigger an instant sequence of actions:  selling and repurchasing Treasuries, updating Jiko’s national bank ledger, and settling balances with full transparency, in USD. This unique approach, which executes in milliseconds what normally takes days in the fiat world, ensures yield, safety, and settlement without counterparty exposure or delay.

Every JikoNet participant operates within a unified regulatory perimeter. Governed by U.S. banking and securities oversight, client assets remain off-balance-sheet and transparently held in their name. Because the network is structured around regulated custody and direct ownership, counterparty dependence is eliminated by design.

In a market still reliant on commercial banking intermediaries, JikoNet offers something unique, making it finally possible to have safety, yield, and liquidity together with no trade-off nor cut-offs required.

Investments in T-bills: Are not FDIC insured. Are not deposits. Are not bank guaranteed.

Funds are invested in Treasury bills in $100 increments. Aggregate funds in your Jiko Brokerage Account of less than $100 will remain in that account in cash. The Jiko Brokerage Account, whether cash or securities, is not FDIC insured.

All U.S. Treasury investments and investment advisory services provided by Jiko Securities, Inc., a registered broker-dealer, member FINRA and SIPC. Securities in your account are protected up to $500,000. For details, please see www.sipc.org.

Banking services provided by Jiko Bank, a division of Mid-Central National Bank. Commercial and consumer account limitations may vary.

Jiko Group, Inc. and its affiliates do not provide legal, tax, or accounting advice. You should consult your legal and/or tax advisors before making any financial decisions. This material is not intended as a recommendation, offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security or investment strategy. See FINRA BrokerCheck (https://brokercheck.finra.org/firm/summary/287507), Jiko US Treasuries Risk Disclosures (https://jiko.io/docs/treasuries_risk_disclosure.pdf) and Jiko Securities Inc. Form CRS (https://jiko.io/docs/JikoSecuritiesFormCRS.pdf).

This post is commissioned by Jiko and does not serve as a testimonial or endorsement by The Block. This post is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment, tax, legal or other advice. You should conduct your own research and consult independent counsel and advisors on the matters discussed within this post. Past performance of any asset is not indicative of future results.