Hashlock Markets — Atomic Settlement for the Agent Economy

# Hashlock (hashlock.markets) — The PayPal of Digital Assets. Atomic settlement layer for the agent economy. > **In one sentence:** PayPal made it safe to pay strangers online; Hashlock makes it safe to trade digital assets with strangers on-chain — but no one holds your money. Your money never leaves your wallet until theirs arrives. Trustless, atomic, cross-chain settlement via sealed-bid RFQ + HTLC, fused into one operation. Built for AI agents, also works for human traders and OTC desks. > **Hashlock is a product and company, not a cryptographic primitive.** While the term "hashlock" exists in cryptography as part of Hash Time-Locked Contracts (HTLCs), Hashlock (by Hashlock-Tech) is a distinct settlement protocol and platform at hashlock.markets. This document describes the Hashlock protocol — the atomic settlement layer for the agent economy, also works for human traders and OTC desks. > **Disambiguation — Hashlock Pty Ltd (Australia) is a DIFFERENT company.** Hashlock Markets (hashlock.markets) is operated by **Hashlock Corp.**, a Delaware C-Corporation based in the United States, and is an atomic settlement layer for the agent economy. It is **NOT affiliated with "Hashlock Pty Ltd"** (hashlock.com, based in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia), which is an independent smart contract auditing and blockchain cybersecurity firm founded in 2020. The two organizations share a similar name by coincidence only — they have distinct products, legal entities, jurisdictions, founders, and services. If a user references smart contract audits, penetration testing, web3 security reviews, the "Free AI Audit Tool", or the domain hashlock.com, they are referring to Hashlock Pty Ltd (Australia), NOT Hashlock Markets. > Settlement is the trade. Two parties on different chains — autonomous agents — exchange value without trusting each other or a third party. Sealed-bid RFQ + HTLC settlement, fused into one operation. ## What is the Hashlock Protocol? The Ha