Hashlock Markets brings intent-based crypto trading to AI agents via MCP
Hashlock Markets built an MCP server exposing five tools that let Claude and other AI agents execute atomic cross-chain crypto trades using sealed-bid RFQs and HTLC settlement with zero slippage or front-running.
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Hashlock Markets, authored by Baris Sozen, is an intent-based OTC trading protocol that uses sealed-bid Request-for-Quote (RFQ) auctions and Hash Time-Locked Contracts (HTLCs) for atomic, trustless settlement across Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Sui. The team built an MCP server (`@hashlock-tech/mcp`) that exposes five tools — `create_intent`, `validate_intent`, `commit_intent`, `explain_intent`, and `parse_natural_language` — letting AI assistants like Claude trade directly on behalf of users. Authentication uses SIWE (Sign-In with Ethereum) bearer tokens valid for 30 days. The server is MIT-licensed and available via `npx` locally or a hosted Streamable HTTP endpoint, and multi-leg intents, limit orders with expiry, and Solana/Arbitrum support are on the roadmap.
Hashlock Markets (hashlock.markets), built by Hashlock-Tech and described by author Baris Sozen, is an intent-based trading protocol designed to eliminate the trust and information-leakage problems of traditional OTC crypto trading. Users declare a structured intent — for example, "sell 10 ETH for USDC, minimum $3,200" — and market makers respond with sealed bids that are invisible to one another. The best bid wins, and settlement occurs atomically via Hash Time-Locked Contracts (HTLCs), meaning both legs of a trade execute simultaneously or neither does. This produces zero slippage, no front-running, and no custodial risk. The protocol currently supports Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Sui, and can settle cross-chain trades — such as swapping 1 BTC on Bitcoin mainnet for 20 ETH on Ethereum — without bridges, wrapped tokens, or custodians.\n\nThe team argues that intent-based trading is a natural fit for LLMs because intents are structured data rather than visual chart patterns. To operationalize this, they published an MCP server (`@hashlock-tech/mcp`) implementing the Model Context Protocol with five tools: `create_intent`, `validate_intent`, `commit_intent`, `explain_intent`, and `parse_natural_language`. The last tool converts plain English like "Sell 2 BTC for USDC on Ethereum, minimum $68k" into a valid intent object. The server runs locally via `npx -y @hashlock-tech/mcp` or connects remotely to `https://hashlock.markets/mcp`, and both modes require a SIWE bearer token obtained by signing once at `hashlock.markets/sign/login` (valid for 30 days). Supported assets include ETH, BTC, SUI, USDC, USDT, and any ERC-20.\n\nConfiguring Claude Desktop requires adding the `hashlock` entry to `claude_desktop_config.json` with the `HASHLOCK_ACCESS_TOKEN` environment variable, after which users can instruct Claude in plain English to create and execute trades. The server is MIT-licensed and hosted on GitHub at `Hashlock-Tech/hashlock-mcp-server`. Planned features include multi-leg atomic intents (e.g., sell BTC → buy ETH → stake on Lido in one transaction), limit orders with expiry monitored by the MCP server, AI-driven portfolio rebalancing, and expansion to Solana and Arbitrum.
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