What is Derive?
Derive is a decentralized derivatives platform built for options, perpetuals, and structured products. Designed for advanced traders, Derive combines the performance of a centralized exchange with the security and self-custody of DeFi. It runs on the Derive Chain—an Optimistic Rollup built with the OP Stack—that settles to Ethereum for full decentralization and censorship resistance.
At its core, Derive is made up of three components:
- Derive Protocol: A permissionless smart contract layer where users can trade options and perpetuals directly from their wallets, with margining, liquidation, and settlement handled on-chain.
- Derive Exchange: A high-speed, centralized limit order book operated by Lyra Trading Co. It matches orders off-chain and settles them on-chain via the protocol, enabling fast execution without sacrificing decentralization.
- Derive Chain: An application-specific Layer 2 that powers Derive’s ecosystem, designed to handle complex financial products with low latency and minimal gas fees.
Derive allows for the creation and trading of fully customizable on-chain options—such as 0DTE (zero-day expiry) contracts—and supports structured products for more advanced yield and hedging strategies. Traders can program their positions, automate rollovers, or build strategies that previously weren’t possible on-chain.
With a focus on capital efficiency, transparency, and composability, Derive is pioneering the next phase of decentralized derivatives infrastructure—where sophisticated tools meet on-chain freedom.
