Frequently Asked Questions
About Abaxx Spot and the Ecosystem
Abaxx Precious Metals is the Abaxx market ecosystem for physical gold and silver. It brings together Abaxx Spot, which supports the trading, settlement, storage, and transfer of physical precious metals, with related futures contracts traded on Abaxx Exchange.
Abaxx Spot provides access to physical gold and silver pools in Singapore, with spot market trading and settlement services available through a pre-funded central limit order book. These services are designed to support inventory management and utility services that could reduce operational cost and counterparty risk. Pending regulatory approvals, inventory management services are also expected to allow precious metal deposits to be used as futures margin collateral at Abaxx Exchange.
Abaxx Spot is designed to address several challenges in the physical precious metals market, particularly in OTC trading and settlement:
- Trading Fragmentation: Physical gold and silver trading remains fragmented with liquidity spread across various platforms. This can make liquidity harder to access and limit transparency for market participants outside the largest institutional networks.
- Limited Pre-Trade Transparency: Without a centralized venue for spot market trading and price discovery, market participants have limited visibility into available bids, offers, and executable market prices before entering into a transaction.
- Counterparty Credit Exposure: Bilateral OTC transactions require market participants to assess and manage counterparty credit risk directly, which can increase operational complexity and cost compared with pre-funded spot trading and centrally cleared futures markets.
- Physical Market Dislocation: Precious metals markets can experience dislocations between futures pricing, regional physical supply, and available deliverable material. Co-located spot and futures markets can help market participants manage exposure more directly, without relying as heavily on movement between regional markets.
Abaxx Spot addresses these challenges through a pre-funded spot trading and settlement model for physical precious metals. By providing spot market trading through a central limit order book, Abaxx Spot is designed to improve pre-trade price discovery and reduce reliance on traditional bilateral intermediaries.
Its pre-funded model helps minimize counterparty risk for spot transactions, while Delivery Versus Payment ("DVP") settlement helps align the exchange of physical metal and cash. Abaxx Spot's physical gold and silver pools in Singapore are complemented by related futures contracts listed on Abaxx Exchange and cleared through Abaxx Clearing, supporting a more direct connection between physical precious metals markets and centrally cleared risk management.
Abaxx Spot gives market participants a more direct way to trade, settle, hold, and transfer physical precious metals. Through a pre-funded trading model and Delivery Versus Payment ("DVP") settlement, Abaxx Spot helps reduce counterparty and settlement risk while providing clearer access to executable spot market prices.
Its inventory management and transfer services also allow physical metal held at Abaxx Spot to be used more efficiently across trading, financing, and collateral workflows. Pending regulatory approvals, gold deposits held at Abaxx Spot are expected to be eligible for use as futures margin collateral at Abaxx Exchange, creating a more direct link between physical gold holdings and centrally cleared futures market participation.
Traditional OTC precious metals trading can depend on bilateral relationships, negotiated pricing, and limited visibility into available market prices. Abaxx Spot provides a more transparent model through pre-funded spot trading on a central limit order book, giving registered Market Participants access to executable bids and offers before they trade.
Trading, settlement, and transfer activity is supported by reporting, market data, and transaction records designed to give participants clearer visibility across the trade lifecycle.
Legal, Ownership & Risk
When physical metal is deposited into Abaxx Spot, the participant does not transfer ownership of that metal to Abaxx Spot. Instead, the metal is held in a pooled account with an independent vault operator, and each participant owns an undivided interest in the relevant gold or silver pool.
Abaxx Spot does not take title to participant metal or cash. This structure is documented through bailment and sub-bailment arrangements and supported by daily reconciliation and independent audits to verify that participant records match the metal held at the vault.
Gold and silver prices are subject to global market forces, and market participants remain responsible for managing their own market exposure.
Abaxx Spot is designed to improve the trading structure around physical precious metals by providing registered market participants with direct access to executable spot market prices through a central limit order book. The pre-funded model reduces reliance on bilateral intermediaries by requiring metal and cash to be available before trades are executed.
The co-location of Abaxx Spot with related futures contracts on Abaxx Exchange creates a direct connection between spot trading, physical inventory, and futures market exposure for physical and derivatives market participants.
Trading, Operations & Access
Abaxx Spot operates on a pre-funded model. Market participants first complete onboarding and customer due diligence before their accounts are activated.
Once approved, market participants fund their accounts with eligible physical metal and/or cash. Registered market participants can then buy and sell gold or silver with each other on Abaxx Spot. The platform matches buyers and sellers, and transactions are settled by Abaxx Spot using Delivery Versus Payment ("DVP"), ensuring the simultaneous exchange of physical metal and cash and eliminating settlement risk.
After settlement, participants may hold metal in the relevant Abaxx Spot pool, transfer metal between Abaxx Spot accounts, or request physical withdrawal from the vault operator, subject to applicable procedures and eligibility requirements.
Services are only available to approved Market Participants that have completed an application process which includes satisfying KYC and AML requirements. In addition, registered Market Participants need to agree to the Abaxx Spot Terms and Conditions (Spot Terms). Registered Market Participants' eligibility, particularly with regard to KYC/AML compliance, is reviewed periodically to maintain the integrity of the service offering.
Any amendments to the Pool Procedures or Spot Terms will be communicated via email notice to all registered Market Participants at least 10 business days in advance. Registered Market Participants are expected to review such updates and ensure compliance by the effective date.
There is currently no minimum balance requirement. However, registered Market Participants must ensure sufficient Available Funds or Available Holdings are present in their accounts to execute any transaction. Requests that exceed available balances will be automatically rejected.
Yes. Abaxx Spot may reject a transaction request if:
- It exceeds Available Holdings or Funds
- The instructions are incomplete or mismatched
- The bars do not meet LBMA or platform standards during deposit
- The request violates the Spot Terms or operational procedures
Registered Market Participants will be notified in such cases with the reason for rejection.
In the event of a discrepancy between registered Market Participant records and Abaxx Spot's system, registered Market Participants should promptly notify Abaxx Spot Operations via email ([email protected]). Abaxx Spot will review the issue and provide supporting audit logs or vault confirmations as needed to resolve the discrepancy.
Pending regulatory approval, registered Market Participants may be able to pledge eligible gold held at Abaxx Spot as collateral for margin obligations on Abaxx Exchange. This feature is part of Abaxx's integrated ecosystem and will be announced once available.
Brink's is a globally recognized, LBMA-approved vaulting provider with established infrastructure and a strong reputation for secure logistics and storage. While the platform begins with Brink's to ensure operational control and service reliability during launch, additional Vault Operators may be added in the future based on market needs, registered Market Participant demand, or geographic expansion.
Abaxx Spot is a registered dealer under the Precious Stones and Precious Metals (Prevention of Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing and Proliferation Financing) Act 2019 ("PSPMA") in Singapore. As such, Abaxx Spot is obligated to comply with PSPMA and its subsidiary regulations. This includes implementing robust AML/CFT/CPF controls and conducting comprehensive customer due diligence prior to onboarding. All Abaxx Spot Market Participants are subject to stringent KYC and AML checks and must meet our internal AML/KYC compliance standards prior to accessing the platform. This ensures that all registered Market Participants operate in a secure and trusted environment.
Yes. Abaxx Spot Participants are subject to applicable service fees, which are detailed in a monthly invoice issued by Abaxx Spot. Fees are paid via bank transfer to the designated account by the stated due date. For the latest fee structure, registered Market Participants should refer to their monthly invoice or contact Abaxx Spot Finance via email ([email protected]).
Settlement Processes & Technical Operations
Abaxx Spot operates from Monday to Friday, 09:00 to 17:00 SGT, excluding public holidays. Any transaction requests submitted outside of these hours will be processed on the next business day.
We are actively working towards extending our operation to a 24/7 model to better support global Market Participants and round-the-clock trading. Further updates will be announced in due course.
Instrument Codes uniquely identify each type of gold product (e.g., kilobar 99.99% purity) and silver (e.g., 1,000 oz 99.99% purity bar) eligible for trading on Abaxx Spot . All transaction requests (deposits, withdrawals, transfers) must reference the correct Instrument Code to ensure accuracy and eligibility.
For physical deposits, Abaxx Spot ensures that bullion originates directly from approved refineries, maintaining a verified chain of custody. For internal book transfers, the Vault performs acceptance checks to confirm that the chain of custody remains intact and that the metal is sourced directly from an LBMA Good Delivery List refinery. If a bar does not meet these criteria, it will be rejected.
Currently, Abaxx Spot only accepts USD for all cash transactions. Registered Market Participants must ensure all transfers to and from the platform are made in USD to the designated Cash Custodian account.
All trades on Abaxx Spot are settled using a Delivery Versus Payment (DVP) mechanism, ensuring that physical bullion and cash are exchanged simultaneously to eliminate counterparty risk. Upon order entry, the system verifies that both parties have sufficient pre-funded holdings or funds. This pre-trade check ensures that, once an order is matched, the required cash and gold or silver are available. Following a match, holdings and cash balances are updated immediately.
For Physical Deposits:
- Requests received before 15:00 SGT: Processed on the same business day
- Requests received after 15:00 SGT: Processed on the next business day
For Physical Withdrawals:
- Pickup can be arranged for as early as the next business day
- Requests received before 15:00 SGT: Processed same day
- Requests received after 15:00 SGT: Processed next business day
For Cash Deposits (USD only):
- Funds received by the Cash Custodian before 16:00 SGT: Credited same day
- Funds received after 16:00 SGT: Credited next business day
For Cash Withdrawals:
- Requests received by 11:00 SGT: Processed by 13:00 SGT
- Requests received between 11:00 and 15:00 SGT: Processed by 17:00 SGT
- Requests received after 15:00 SGT: Processed next business day
Yes. Registered Market Participants can independently initiate transfers of gold holdings between gold accounts or silver holdings between silver accounts within their Abaxx Spot accounts. and other registered Market Participants. These transfers must be submitted via email to Abaxx Spot Operations ([email protected]) by both parties (transferor and transferee) and must include matching details (e.g., Instrument Code, quantity, and transaction type). Transfers can be of two types:
- Delivery Versus Payment (DVP): involves a simultaneous transfer of metal and cash.
- Free of Payment (FoP): Involves only the metal transfer without any corresponding cash movement.
- Both transfer instructions must be submitted by 16:00 SGT for same-day processing
- Instructions received after 16:00 SGT: Processed on the next business day
- Transfers are only executed if both parties submit matching details and have sufficient balances
If Abaxx Spot receives mismatched or incomplete transfer instructions from the involved Market Participants, the transaction will not be processed. Abaxx Spot will notify the Market Participants of the discrepancy, and new instructions must be submitted before the transfer can proceed.
For any operational matters, registered Market Participants should contact the Abaxx Spot Operations team via email at [email protected]. For financial queries, they may contact [email protected], and for compliance-related issues, reach out to [email protected].
In the event of an operational emergency or market disruption, Abaxx Spot reserves the right to take necessary measures to protect Market integrity. This includes suspension of services. Registered Market Participants will be notified through established channels should such actions occur.