I did the mentorship and met Kain in person at @EthereumDenver 2022. I learned Solidity by participating in the hackathon. I joined a team that wanted to hedge IL using Squeeth. We ended up winning $12k in bounties, Best of Defi, Best use of Aave, and Celebrity Judge Pick (thanks @griffgreen).
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Apr 13
A counter example of a False Positive to emphasise the lack of technical depth - “options on chain” is an easy pitch that many VCs threw big money at.
The issue of pin risk a a manipulation vector was extremely obvious to anyone with quant or trading experience.
One of the few designs that actually adapted to on-chain constraints was Squeeth, which removed strikes and expiries entirely. Ironically, it was largely overlooked by VCs, likely because it didn’t fit the familiar simple “options” narrative.
@ryskfinance seems to have solved some of these problems but again no big money thrown at it.
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Mar 13
很感慨：
加密业务同质性向来很强，决定你与竞争对手差距的
- 短期可能是币价
- 中期可能是产品
- 长期还是会落到商誉
你存在的越久，商誉越高，就越容易吸引资源，所谓林迪效应。时机固然也重要，然而其实也只有足够早地扎根的人，才能在风来的时候，接住破天流量。
@DeriveXYZ 大概就是这样一个项目，虽然称不上最早的链上期权，但硬是经历了当年 Ribbon Finance 的热潮，22-23年熊市沉寂，Ribbon转型 Aevo， Opyn 做 Squeeth又沉寂，熬到了机构又开始看链上期权，熬到了 @coinbase 收购 @DeribitOfficial ，熬到了普通用户也开始参与售卖波动率这个古老但又有效的收益策略，去看看身边有多少人学会用双币投资来抄底就知道了。
其创始人 @nickforster 捕捉到了这一波期权快速发展背后是链上收益结构与用户风险收益偏好的变化，深以为然：
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过去几个月市场里那些"躺赚"的收益来源，Farming、Points、Basis Trade等，全面压缩到了个位数，大量资金在重新思考出路。
过去当 @pendle_fi PT 还能给你 15-20% APR 的时候，没有人愿意去承担价格风险区赚5%，但现在 Yield 全面回落，那些曾经"不够性感"的策略突然变得有吸引力了。
这就是期权的机会。
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收益从哪里来？
从帮别人承担波动率获得的报酬中来。
1）卖Call：Covered Call
本质是一个限价卖出单，你持有BTC，选一个你愿意卖出的价格（比如重回$100K），卖出Call，收取期权费。BTC 没涨到 $100K，你赚期权费收益，BTC 涨过 $100K，你在$100K 卖出落袋，放弃了更高上涨空间，但你不在乎，你严格执行了你的纪律，卖飞永赚。
2）卖Put：Protective Put
本质是一个限价买入单，你持有USDT，选一个你愿意抄底买入BTC的价格（比如价格跌到$55K），卖出Put，收取期权费。BTC 没跌到 $55K，你赚期权费收益，BTC 跌破$55K，你在$55K接盘执行你的买单。
就是这个古老但又极度有效的收益策略
在熊市得到了青睐，为什么？
一部分抄到底愿意上涨后严格遵守纪律卖出的人，一部分亏损躺平但又不想割肉，想赚点收益并且在价格回本时候卖出的人，都会选择卖Call。
另一部分积极抄底定投的人，单纯挂限价买单资金效率太低，而卖Put，即便价格没到理想位置，也能产生收益。
而且有一个关键点：市场价格波动越大的时候，期权费越贵，卖期权而收取期权费的APR就越高。这跟 funding rate 正好是反的，funding rate 在熊市经常转负或趋近于零，恰恰在你最需要收益的时候给不了你。
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链上期权在这一轮也完成了新的迭代：
上一轮的范式是 Ribbon Finance 开创的 DOV金库模式（Decentralized Option Vault），用户存 ETH 进金库，金库每周自动卖 Covered Call，期权费滚动复投。
简单粗暴，散户友好。
但 DOV 有结构性问题：行权价和到期日由金库管理者选择，并通过Auction竞价的模式，批发统一卖给期权做市商，用户没得选择，扩展性有限。Ribbon后来转型成了Aevo期权交易所，也抛弃了这种模式。
现在这一代分成了两条路线：
1）金库模式的进化： @ryskfinance
从 Ribbon 的失败里做了关键改进，从固定Auction改成 RFQ，即每笔交易单独询价，每个仓位独立结算，支持 Covered Call 和 Protective Put 两个方向。目前在 Arbitrum 和 Hyperliquid 上跑，TVL增长迅猛。
2）专业交易所路线： @DeriveXYZ
直接做期权交易所，面向机构和专业交易者，并且提供机构在意的Cross Margin，即全仓保证金，以及Off-Exchange Custody with Tri-Party Arrangement，即资产不放交易所，通过第三方托管，结算时才移动。这些本身是 Deribit 提供并做对了的事，Derive在复制这套体验
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Perp不再是唯一，永续期权不被需要：
以前行业里有一个假设：Perp这种产品才有 PMF，期权太复杂，用户玩不明白。这个假设曾经催生了一个研究方向，Perpetual Options（永续期权）。
后来 Opyn 做了 Squeeth（Squared ETH，ETH² 的 power perpetual），Panoptic 用 Uniswap LP position 来模拟永续期权。
然而 Squeeth 火了一阵就沉寂了，Panoptic 还在早期。Perpetual Options 作为一个品类，从来没有真正起量过。而纯Options已经在市场参与者逐步专业化的趋势下，以及Deribit的带领下，慢慢在跑出来了。
为什么？因为 Perpetual Options 试图解决的是期权太复杂以及和Perp体验差别太大的问题，但这样做的代价是你同时也去掉了期权最有价值的东西：精确定义风险和收益的能力，沦为了四不像。
以前觉得非线性 Payoff这种东西，用户不好理解，但实际上，预测市场这种包装成了"预测"的“二元期权”，照样火的一塌糊涂，所以大家其实也能感觉到，有时候只是缺大家关心和方便理解的标的物，以及参与起来很直观的界面而已，能帮助赚钱，能赚到钱，学习不是问题。
预测市场其实也在间接培养一代理解非线性 Payoff 的用户。回过头来看，Perpetual Options 是在用户还没准备好的时候，试图用产品设计来绕过认知门槛。但现在用户逐步准备好了，是不是还需要永续期权？
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Mar 2
Wen Squeeth
DeFi is dead, but I still wish someone would build power perpetuals.
paradigm.xyz/2021/08/power-p…
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Mar 2
this advice is not for the faint of heart
as a warning the squeeth blogpost already killed a company
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30 Dec 2025
"If options are so good, why haven't they worked out (yet)?" 🤔
Fair question @izebel_eth, @ThinkingUSD, but it reveals a lack of imagination.
Here is the breakdown of why DeFi options stalled (adding to @intern_cc's brilliant piece), and the Flywheel that is about to fix it:
1. The Hedging Friction (2022/23 Era) 📉
Infrastructure wasn't ready.
At D2, we relied on @GMX_IO v1 for hedging—it was effective but too expensive.
However, back then, the Opportunity > Friction.
(E.g., Before he pivoted to playing with robots, @Rewkang was our favorite counterparty 💚).
The d2 Proof:
Despite costs, our best month to date is still Feb 2024 ( 21% Net).
We captured Vol Upside Funding Arb when @GMX_IO rates hit >100%.
(Yes, we were heavily arb-ing funding before @ethena and @gdog97_ ruined the party... printing was easier back then kek 😅).
2. The "Grift" & Execution Failures despite cheap money 🗑️
The @Offchain tech didn't fail; the @arbitrum DAO and its parasites did.
Remember the 2023 STIP (~$10M) donations to "options protocols"?
• Dopex: rDPX v2... how many Dubai penthouses did that buy?
• @aevoxyz: The most egregious wash-trading operation in TGE history.
• The Graveyard: Jones, Thetanuts, Thales, Premia, @ryskfinance v1... great for farming, zero retention.
• @opyn_: Who the hell thought Squeeth was a good strategy? 🤣 (Standard @Citrini7 W).
3. The Skill Gap (MMs vs. BDs) 🧠
Options MMing requires Math, not Vibes.
Post-FTX (thanks @SBF_FTX 💀), lots MM traders were wiped out.
The survivors were mostly "Pump and Dump as a Service" shops (BD focus), incapable of managing inventory across expiries/strikes.
(Remember when Su Zhu/3AC were the #1 real volume on @DeribitOfficial?)
According to @YoannTurpin1, most of not TOP 3 MM now focus on daycare 🤣 (btw @wintermute_t remains one of the few skilled ones despite the CT FUD).
4. The Arbitrage Unlock: The Flywheel is Finally Live 🔓
The final boss was the disconnect between TradFi (IBIT) and DeFi.
In 2026, grannies hold all the money (gold, silver, SPX) and will be heavily pitched IBIT covered call strategies by their RIAs
(@bitwise and others).
That opens massive opportunities.
@DeriveXYZ already built the real tech for DeFi, but the plumbing was missing to execute real On-chain
↔️ TradFi arbitrage.
Now, with brokers like Interactive Brokers enabling Stablecoin deposits, the loop closes:
✅ Grannies have too much money and need diversification (Bitcoin vol is still high compared to equity indices).
✅ IBIT and @BlackRock ETFs options volumes explode.
✅ TradFi Brokerage Stablecoin Funding ➡️ Seamless arbitrage for D2
✅ Arb IBIT vs. DeFi ➡️ Real Liquidity Enters.
✅ Tighter Spreads ➡️ Better Odds for Speculators.
✅ Massive Hedging Flow ➡️ Dumps directly into @HyperliquidX.
The Bottom Line:
If Options win, Perps win.
If you think they are enemies, you have Bag Bias.
d2.finance is long Innovation and Short "Lack of Imagination."
In 2026, we will be ready to deploy strategies on top of @HyperliquidX BLP (wen cap raise?) and options venues (@DeriveXYZ, @flowdesk_co, etc.) to capture this exact flow.
More DeFi Legos = More Potential Real Returns for d2 users.
Hyperliquid
29 Dec 2025
"Perps have an illusion of simplicity, but the mechanics are deeply complex."
Spot on from @intern_cc.
Here is the hard truth: Options are the ONLY instrument where you can turn a low 4-figure ‘bet’ into $100k without getting killed on the path.
Try that embedded leverage on a Perp? You get stopped out by a ~1/2% wick.
We proved this in August (dgnUpside / hype books):
Small premium entry ➡️ $100k exit during DAT @fundstrat mania .
Zero liquidation risk. Pure convexity on Tom Lee not showing up on budgy smugglers on @CNBC 🤣.
But the instrument is only as good as the pilot.
If you want the positive outcome, you need a manager with the track record to actually execute it (and hedge it on @HyperliquidX when needed: yes, we actually traded over a quarter-billion on Hyperliquid for delta hedging flow… lmao @izebel_eth on the recent options tantrum).
d2.finance:
✅ 2 Years in DeFi native volatility trading ( 190%)
✅ 5 Years as a TradFi Volatility trading / Quant Global Macro. ( 1 Sortino > 20M net PNL for @blackstone and other institutions)
✅ Experience spanning 3 Multi-Billion Dollar Hedge Funds.
This is the "@RobinhoodApp Moment" we are preparing for on @derive_xyz and @HyperdeltaX . ( LFG @dcfgod — counting on you to keep shill Derive until we get the same volume of @DeribitOfficial kek).
If you want a ve outcome for your 2026 portfolio it will require the right instrument AND the right hands.
Hyperliquid
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26 Dec 2025
hahaha!
Unfortunately it looks like it was shut down. I completely forgot how it worked, but it stood for "squared ETH." If you were long squeeth, you would basically bleed out if it goes sideways, but get paid on the order of x^2 if it went up enough. And the counterparty was just a vault people deposited into that would get the mirrored payout structure
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26 Dec 2025
> thats true the exponential win on surprise upside is the one feature that perps cant replicate
bröther, have we already forgotten about the holy grail SQUEETH?!
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