Derive Protocol Crosses $100M in Value Locked as Bitcoin Whales Make Waves in Options Trading

It's raining options, <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/daybook-us/2024/12/02/it-s-raining-options-and-btc-doesn-t-care-crypto-daybook-americas" target="_blank">CoinDesk said past week</a>, pointing to increasing request for derivatives tied to bitcoin (BTC) and different cryptocurrencies. Now, further grounds has emerged successful the signifier of grounds enactment connected decentralized concern (DeFi), which offers unsocial and programmable onchain options, perpetuals, and structured products.

The full dollar worth of crypto tokens locked (TVL) connected Derive has risen past $100 million, alongside a record-setting trading measurement and monthly progressive traders.

“Derive.xyz's latest marketplace insights uncover singular maturation and heightened activity, with its full worth locked surpassing $100 cardinal for the archetypal time, amid record-setting weeks for trading measurement and progressive traders," Sean Dawson, caput of probe astatine Derive, told CoinDesk successful an email.

“Yield connected each USDC deposits has reached 10% connected Derive.xyz, portion it deed all-time highs successful notional measurement astatine $369 cardinal and monthly progressive trades astatine 5,416," Dawson added.

The Derive level <a href="https://docs.derive.xyz/docs/introduction" target="_blank">comprises</a> of Derive Chain, a colony furniture for transactions; Derive Protocol, which enables permissionless, self-custodial borderline trading of perpetuals, options and spot; and Derive Exchange, an bid book.

The grounds enactment connected Derive is accordant with the wide request for options tied to cryptocurrencies and integer assets-related concern vehicles similar spot ETFs and stocks.

Options are derivative contracts that springiness the purchaser the close to bargain oregon merchantability the underlying plus astatine a predetermined terms later. A telephone gives the close to bargain and represents a bullish stake connected the market, portion a enactment indicates a bearish bet.

Whales merchantability BTC calls

Last week, a whale sold <a href="https://x.com/itseneff/status/1864090349137998097" target="_blank">collected over</a> $1.6 cardinal successful premium by selling BTC calls against a agelong presumption successful the spot market. The alleged covered telephone strategy progressive abbreviated positions successful March expiry telephone options astatine strikes, ranging from $105,000 to $130,000.

The whale volition clasp the premium if BTC stays beneath $105,000 by the extremity of March. Conversely, the agelong presumption successful the spot marketplace volition compensate for losses stemming from a imaginable rally beyond $130,000.

Another fashionable strategy among traders has been posting sUSDe, a reward-bearing token earned by staking Ethena's USDe stablecoin, arsenic collateral connected Derive to get USDC astatine rates notably little than different lending protocols. The aforesaid is utilized to bargain sUSDe again, and the rhythm is repeated.

The alleged DeFi transportation trades gain a double-digit instrumentality owing to the affirmative dispersed betwixt sUSDe's 28% annualized output and Derive's ongoing USDC borrowing complaint of astir 18%.