Clear Street to Enter Futures Market with Acquisition of React Consulting Services

Clear Street, a US-based independent prime broker, announced its plans to enter the futures clearing market by acquiring React Consulting Services, LLC and its proprietary, cloud-native futures clearing platform, BASIS.

BASIS will be integrated into Clear Street's existing cloud-native clearing, settlement, execution, and custody platform. Upon the integration of BASIS, Clear Street will offer clients services and tools they need to clear, custody, and finance U.S. equities, options, fixed income, and futures. Full integration of BASIS will be phased, as the company plans to connect the platform to futures exchanges starting in early 2024.

Clear Street's expansion into futures clearing is subject to regulatory approval.

Sachin Kumar, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Clear Street, said: "Integrating BASIS will give our customers seamless access to futures alongside our equity, options, and fixed income offering in one platform. This acquisition accelerates our product development timeline and brings us closer to a single platform for every asset class, in every country, and in any currency."

Through the transaction, 10 employees from React, including its co-founders Pat Mayo and Dave Evans, will join Clear Street. Mayo and Evans will both take the position of Managing Director and report directly to Kumar.

Mayo said: "The React team shares Clear Street's vision for a unified prime brokerage platform and believes deeply in the Company's mission to build modern financial infrastructure for today's institutions."

Evans added: "We are thrilled to join Clear Street and accelerate the company's launch into futures on the firm's proprietary, cloud-native platform."

Clear Street's expansion is supported by its financial strength. Last may, the company completed a $165 million Series B round​ led by Prysm Capital, a growth equity firm. Three months ago, the equity firm announced another $270 million investment in the brokerage firm. The investment was the second tranche of a $435 million Series B funding and valued Clear Street at $2.0 billion.