Settlement (T+0 & T+1)

Market Structure · Lesson 3.2

Settlement is the point at which a trade completes: the buyer receives the asset, the seller receives payment and the transfer is final. Most US securities trades settle T+1, one business day after the trade date. T+0 means settlement on the trade date itself, which is same-day, not necessarily instant or atomic. Some tokenized trades are atomic, with the token and the payment moving in a single transaction, but only when both are onchain. If the token moves onchain while the cash goes by bank wire, settlement risk has not gone away. It sits with the payment.

Wally’s note: ⚡ token: done. 🐌 cash: 'processing'

T+0 promises the same day, not the same second. Ask how the cash side settles before calling a trade instant.

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