Frequently asked questions.
How Stoa Markets works: who can participate, how price discovery works, and how trades happen.
What is Stoa Markets?
A neutral institutional marketplace for spot transactions in physical AI hardware (GPUs and related infrastructure) between institutional buyers and sellers. Stoa is a commissioned venue; it is not a party to any trade.
Who can participate?
Stoa is offered to institutions acting in a commercial capacity, such as data-center operators, hardware dealers and brokers, funds, lenders, and liquidators. It is not offered to consumers. Access is by application.
Does Stoa vet participants?
Yes. Participation is limited to institutions, and Stoa applies know-your-business (KYB) checks to confirm participants are institutional counterparties. Stoa does not, however, guarantee or endorse any participant or counterparty. As a neutral venue, participants remain responsible for their own diligence and decisions.
How does price discovery work?
Stoa uses a request-for-quote workflow: a buyer indicates the hardware and terms it is seeking, participating dealers may respond with quotes, and the buyer transacts at the level it chooses. This surfaces clearing levels for hardware that has typically moved through private, bilateral channels.
Does Stoa take custody of hardware or hold funds?
No. Stoa is a neutral venue and is not a party to any trade; it does not take custody of hardware, and counterparties settle between themselves.
How does Stoa make money?
Stoa charges a commission on completed transactions.
What hardware trades on Stoa?
GPUs and AI-infrastructure hardware, such as current-generation NVIDIA accelerators (for example, H100, H200, B200, and A100) and related servers and clusters, across a range of conditions.
Where is Stoa available?
The United States at launch, for institutional participants located in and acting from the U.S.