FalconX, the leading institutional digital asset prime broker, announced the launch of the first Forward Rate Agreement trade referencing Treehouse Ethereum staking yields. The contracts are benchmarked to the Treehouse Ethereum Staking Rate (TESR) and mark a significant milestone in bringing rate-based financial instruments to digital assets.

Executed by FalconX, one of the world's leading providers of digital asset derivatives, TESR Forwards enable market participants to hedge, speculate, or gain structured exposure to Ethereum staking yields by referencing TESR—a decentralized, consensus-driven benchmark built specifically for the digital asset markets. This launch introduces a scalable rate derivatives market that is similar to traditional financial instruments like interest rate swaps and forwards.

"FalconX is proud to launch TESR FRAs, which give institutions access to sophisticated tools for managing staking rate exposure," said Ivan Lim, Senior Derivatives Trader at FalconX. "This marks an important step forward in integrating institutional-grade risk management in crypto markets."

TESR is published by Treehouse, a digital assetinfrastructure firm building the decentralized fixed income layer for crypto markets. One of the benchmarks under Treehouse's Decentralized Offered Rates (DOR)framework, TESR provides a transparent, consensus-based reference rate for Ethereum staking. Updated daily using data and expert panel inputs, TESR reflects Ethereum's staking yield curve and serves as a foundational benchmark for structured products and interest rate derivatives across DeFi and the broader digital asset ecosystem.

"The introduction of TESR FRAs signals a key milestone in building the fixed income layer for digital assets," said Brandon Goh, CEO of Treehouse. "With TESR and the infrastructure we've built through DOR, we're enabling institutions and staking providers to hedge, price, and manage rate volatility—essential functions in any mature financial ecosystem."

A diverse group of leading institutional investors and hedge funds—including Algoquant, August, Edge Capital, Monarq, Gallet Capital, LeadBlock, BitPanda, MEV Capital, Mirana, Moonvault, RockawayX, Wave Digital Assets, and JPEG Trading—are participating in or have expressed interest in trading the newly launched FRA market. This highlights the growing institutional demand for staking rate derivatives and marks an important step toward establishing a continuously accessible market supported by robust trading infrastructure and operational workflows.

"The ability to manage ETH staking rate exposure is critical for maturing digital asset markets," said Michael Ashby, CEO of Algoquant and former Head of Point72 Digital Assets. "Staking rate derivatives like TESR FRAs offer a clear, efficient way to manage rate risk and enhance capital deployment.""Staking rate derivatives like TESR FRAs are long overdue, especially with the surge of institutional capital into crypto over the past year," said Nicholas Gallet, CEO of Gallet Capital and veteran head of Rates Trading at Nomura, WorldQuant and Westpac. "For the first time, long-term crypto holders can hedge against staking yield volatility and express forward-looking views in a format that mirrors traditional finance."