diff --git a/include/fc/thread/parallel.hpp b/include/fc/thread/parallel.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..eebfaeb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/fc/thread/parallel.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2018 The BitShares Blockchain, and contributors.
+ *
+ * The MIT License
+ *
+ * Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
+ * of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
+ * in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
+ * to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
+ * copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
+ * furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+ *
+ * The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
+ * all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+ *
+ * THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+ * IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+ * FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+ * AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+ * LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+ * OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN
+ * THE SOFTWARE.
+ */
+
+#pragma once
+
+#include <fc/thread/task.hpp>
+#include <fc/asio.hpp>
+
+namespace fc {
+
+   namespace detail {
+      template<typename Task>
+      class parallel_completion_handler {
+         public:
+            parallel_completion_handler( Task* task ) : _task(task) {}
+            void operator()() { _task->run(); }
+         private:
+            Task* _task;
+      };
+   }
+
+   /**
+    *  Calls function <code>f</code> in a separate thread and returns a future
+    *  that can be used to wait on the result.
+    *
+    *  @param f the operation to perform
+    */
+   template<typename Functor>
+   auto do_parallel( Functor&& f, const char* desc FC_TASK_NAME_DEFAULT_ARG ) -> fc::future<decltype(f())> {
+      typedef decltype(f()) Result;
+      typedef typename fc::deduce<Functor>::type FunctorType;
+      fc::task<Result,sizeof(FunctorType)>* tsk =
+         new fc::task<Result,sizeof(FunctorType)>( fc::forward<Functor>(f), desc );
+      fc::future<Result> r(fc::shared_ptr< fc::promise<Result> >(tsk,true) );
+      fc::asio::default_io_service().post( detail::parallel_completion_handler<fc::task<Result,sizeof(FunctorType)>>( tsk ) );
+      return r;
+   }
+}
diff --git a/tests/CMakeLists.txt b/tests/CMakeLists.txt
index 600f6f8..17c8e5f 100644
--- a/tests/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/tests/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ add_executable( all_tests all_tests.cpp
                           network/http/websocket_test.cpp
                           thread/task_cancel.cpp
                           thread/thread_tests.cpp
+                          thread/parallel_tests.cpp
                           bloom_test.cpp
                           real128_test.cpp
                           serialization_test.cpp
diff --git a/tests/thread/parallel_tests.cpp b/tests/thread/parallel_tests.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..67ec6ae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/thread/parallel_tests.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2018 The BitShares Blockchain, and contributors.
+ *
+ * The MIT License
+ *
+ * Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
+ * of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
+ * in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
+ * to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
+ * copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
+ * furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+ *
+ * The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
+ * all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+ *
+ * THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+ * IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+ * FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+ * AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+ * LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+ * OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN
+ * THE SOFTWARE.
+ */
+
+#include <boost/test/unit_test.hpp>
+
+#include <fc/thread/parallel.hpp>
+
+BOOST_AUTO_TEST_SUITE(parallel_tests)
+
+BOOST_AUTO_TEST_CASE( do_nothing_parallel )
+{
+   std::vector<fc::future<void>> results;
+   results.reserve( 20 );
+   for( size_t i = 0; i < results.capacity(); i++ )
+      results.push_back( fc::do_parallel( [i] () { std::cout << i << ","; } ) );
+   for( auto& result : results )
+      result.wait();
+   std::cout << "\n";
+}
+
+BOOST_AUTO_TEST_CASE( do_something_parallel )
+{
+   struct result {
+      boost::thread::id thread_id;
+      int               call_count;
+   };
+
+   std::vector<fc::future<result>> results;
+   results.reserve( 20 );
+   boost::thread_specific_ptr<int> tls;
+   for( size_t i = 0; i < results.capacity(); i++ )
+      results.push_back( fc::do_parallel( [i,&tls] () {
+         if( !tls.get() ) { tls.reset( new int(0) ); }
+         result res = { boost::this_thread::get_id(), (*tls.get())++ };
+         return res;
+      } ) );
+
+   std::map<boost::thread::id,std::vector<int>> results_by_thread;
+   for( auto& res : results )
+   {
+      result r = res.wait();
+      results_by_thread[r.thread_id].push_back( r.call_count );
+   }
+
+   BOOST_CHECK( results_by_thread.size() > 1 ); // require execution by more than 1 thread
+   for( auto& pair : results_by_thread )
+   {  // check that thread_local_storage counter works
+      std::sort( pair.second.begin(), pair.second.end() );
+      for( size_t i = 0; i < pair.second.size(); i++ )
+         BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL( i, pair.second[i] );
+   }
+}
+
+BOOST_AUTO_TEST_SUITE_END()