At Terramatris, we’ve always been fascinated by the evolution of crypto markets and the growing range of opportunities they create for traders and investors. For years, our main focus has been on more traditional centralized exchanges (CEX) such as Bybit and Deribit. These platforms have provided liquidity, stability, and advanced trading features—making them indispensable for our operations.
But one thing has always been missing: a true decentralized exchange (DEX) for options trading.
Recently, while researching potential institutional partners for our US operations (Kraken), we stumbled upon Derive, a DEX options trading platform. If liquidity and market makers keep growing, Derive has the potential to become a central piece in the future of decentralized derivatives trading.
Why Derive Matters
Decentralized trading isn’t just about ideology—it’s about resilience, accessibility, and innovation. While we still rely heavily on CEXs for their speed and liquidity, a truly functioning DEX fills a crucial gap. Derive does just that.
At the moment, Derive supports BTC and ETH options trading. Naturally, we would love to see Solana integrated in the future, especially since we’re actively running our Solana Covered Call Growth Fund. But even without Solana, having BTC and ETH live on a fully decentralized platform is an exciting step forward.
The fee structure is another point of interest. On first glance, trading fees seem higher compared to centralized competitors like Bybit or Deribit. However, Derive’s native token (DRV) plays an important role. Traders receive partial refunds in DRV, effectively cutting fees in half. For us, this means not only do we get exposure to a new instrument (DEX options), but we also add a new token to our portfolio. We see this as a learning opportunity, and we’re happy to take a small position as we continue exploring the ecosystem.
Who’s Behind Derive?
As we dug deeper, we learned that Derive is backed by the Lyra Foundation, a team known for pioneering decentralized derivatives. While our knowledge so far only scratches the surface, we feel increasingly confident about their vision and execution. It’s rare to find a DEX team that has both the technical expertise and the financial infrastructure to compete with established CEXs.
Our philosophy at Terramatris has always been simple: we like to put our money where our mouth is. That’s why, even at this early stage, we’re committing a small portion of our portfolio to Derive.
How It Works in Practice
Getting started on Derive was straightforward but requires some familiarity with DeFi tools. Here’s how we approached it:
- Wallet Setup – Derive connects through MetaMask, making onboarding seamless for anyone already using DeFi applications.
- Network Choice – We opted for the Arbitrum network, which offered us lower fees and reliable transaction speeds.
- Funding the Account – We deposited USDC and ETH into our wallet on Arbitrum, ensuring we had both stable collateral and trading capital.
- First Trade – To test the waters, we opened a 0.1 ETH put contract. This small initial trade is our way of learning the platform mechanics while limiting risk exposure.
So far, the process has been smooth, and the interface feels intuitive compared to other DEX platforms we’ve tested in the past.
Our First Impressions
- Accessibility: The MetaMask integration is seamless, making it easy for anyone with a Web3 wallet to get started.
- Transparency: No KYC requirements keep the platform true to the spirit of DeFi. But that might be challenging in the future.
- Innovation: The DRV token and fee refund system provide an interesting incentive model, even if it’s something we’re still learning about.
- Potential: If Derive manages to attract enough liquidity, it could become a serious competitor to the established CEXs.
For us, Derive represents more than just another trading platform—it’s a proof of concept that decentralized options trading can work. While we still rely on centralized exchanges for the majority of our trading activity, having a DEX option is something we’ve been waiting for.
We are genuinely excited about this development. Even though our current position is small, it feels like the beginning of something important. In the future, we would love to see Solana integrated, which would align perfectly with our existing strategies.
For now, Derive has already earned a spot in our portfolio and in our watchlist. It’s rare that we come across something that feels both innovative and practical—but Derive checks both boxes.
As always, we’ll continue to share our journey and learnings with our community. If you’re curious about decentralized options trading, we encourage you to give Derive a try—all you need is MetaMask and some ETH.