About Rose

Rose is a non-profit financial infrastructure project operated under the IOUR Foundation, a Belgian public benefit foundation. Founded by Richard Olsen — co-founder of OANDA, pioneer in high-frequency finance research — Rose aims to reinvent the core plumbing of the global financial system.

The Problem Rose Solves

Today's financial system runs on infrastructure designed decades ago. Settlement takes days (T+2), capital sits idle overnight, and the system's slow reaction times amplify crises. Trillions in value are lost to friction, counterparty risk, and inefficiency. These structural flaws disproportionately affect smaller participants while concentrating advantages among large institutions.

The Rose Approach

1

Intrinsic Time

Instead of measuring markets by the clock, Rose uses event-driven time that adapts to actual market activity — accelerating during high volatility, slowing during calm periods. This reveals the true dynamics that clock-based models miss. Intrinsic time is the foundational innovation: it transforms how we observe, model, and act on financial data.

2

Fractal Market Microstructure & Scaling Laws

Markets exhibit self-similar patterns across all time scales. Richard Olsen’s research identified 12 empirical scaling laws in high-frequency data that provide statistical predictability to what appears chaotic. These laws hold across currencies, commodities, and equities, forming the scientific basis for the entire Rose system.

3

Coastline Trading (Alpha Engine)

A trading strategy that captures value from the total path traveled by prices (the “coastline”), not just net price changes. An asset may end the year flat but travel a cumulative distance of 1,600% — the Alpha Engine harvests this volatility to generate yield. This yield funds the entire Rose ecosystem without requiring external revenue.

4

Coupled Assets

Tokenized pairs of opposite positions (long + short) that create instruments with built-in stability. The issuer is always delta-neutral, collateral is never idle, and every buyer automatically creates a counterparty. Coupled assets eliminate the need for traditional market makers and dramatically reduce systemic risk.

5

Atomic Settlement & Intraday Money Market

Real-time, instant settlement replacing the current T+2 cycle. An intraday money market allows lending and borrowing for minutes or hours, paying interest continuously. Zero counterparty risk by design. This collapses the infrastructure that currently requires clearinghouses, custodians, and reconciliation systems.

The Broader Vision

Rose is more than a financial engine. The efficiency gains and yield captured by the Alpha Engine are designed to fund commons — free water, free energy, and peace-building initiatives. The project aims to shift the economy from extraction to regeneration.

Foundation Structure

Rose operates under the IOUR Foundation, a Belgian public benefit foundation. All intellectual property is held by the foundation. Commercial entities may be licensed to operate the technology, but always under conditions set by the foundation's governance.