The crypto landscape is ever-growing – and at a breakneck pace. Given that there are already tons of financial products already built in the traditional finance system, all developers have to do is think of ways to onboard these legacy systems onto the blockchain. One of the latest additions to the blockchain industry is the Options market. This article explores the best DeFi options platforms you can visit today and make some nice profits in 2023.
What are DeFi Options?
Options are financial instruments that allow investors to bet on the future price of financial assets. The assets used to be stocks, precious metals and commodities. However, the market is now expanding to include cryptocurrencies.
DeFi options are simply options trading on a decentralized platform.
7 Best DeFi Options Platforms in 2023
There are tons of Defi Options platforms out there, and more are getting built. Hence, it is easy to fall for scams and get your money stolen, or invest in the wrong ones. Here is a list of the best DeFi options platforms to try out in 2023.
- Polysynth – Best for DeFi Options Vaults
- PsyOptions – Best for a Large Variety of Financial Products
- Friktion – Best for Portfolio Management
- Cega – Best for Exotic Options and Yield Farming
- Zeta Markets – Best for Futures & Options Derivatives Exchange
- Opyn – Best for Creating and Trading Options
- Hegic – Best for Peer-to-Pool Options Trading
Polysynth – Best for DeFi Options Vaults
Polysynth is majorly an options vault built on the blockchain. Options vaults are automated trading strategies very common in traditional markets. They are usually too complicated for ordinary traders, but Polysynth made them a lot easier to trade with a few clicks of the mouse.
The platform has a Virtual Market Maker (VMM) that does not use the collateralized debt position (CDP) model commonly used by Automated Market Makers (AMM).
Blockchains: Ethereum, Polygon
Features:
- Uses a Virtual Market Maker instead of AMMs.
- Users have easy access to liquidity.
- Platform has low-slippage
- Polysynth offers better quotes
- It has free and paid packages
Related dApps: Synthetic, Erasure, dHEDGE
PsyOptions – Best for a Large Variety of Financial Products
PsyOptions is a DeFi ecosystem with a wide range of financial products. The options products are represented as normal Solana tokens (SPL). This enables their trading on any DEX that lists them.
Traders who choose PsyOptions will get the power of blockchain technology combined with the feel of a traditional trading platform.
Blockchains: Solana
Features:
- 100% collateralized
- Supports covered calls and secured puts
- PysOptions is also a DAO – 100% community owned.
- Options are SPL tokens that are tradable on any DEX on Solana.
- It has free and paid packages
Related dApps: Enzyme Finance, GMX, HXRO
Friktion – Best for Portfolio Management
Friktion is primarily a platform for crypto portfolio management. The platform has a suite of tools investors can use to outperform the market cycles. With Friktion’s strategies, users can profit in the bull, bear or crab market.
The strategy chosen depends on the user’s risk tolerance, assets deposited, and passive returns desired.
Blockchains: Solana
Features:
- Users can create and manage portfolios
- The platform offers strategies (volts) for risk-adjusted returns.
- It only has paid packages – no free subscriptions.
Related dApps: Rage Trade, Ribbon Finance, Alchemix
Cega – Best for Exotic Options and Yield Farming
Cega is one of the first DeFi platforms to offer exotic options (options contracts that differ from traditional options in their payment structures, expiration dates, and strike prices). It also offers better yield strategies than most yield farming platforms.
Blockchains: Solana
Features:
- Offers exotic derivatives that combine basic options
- Provides better yield strategies that generate better returns
- Yield strategies provide downside protection
- No free subscription.
Related dApps: dHEDGE, HXRO, Cope
Zeta Markets – Best for Futures & Options Derivatives Exchange
Zeta mainly specializes in trading derivatives. To this end, it ensures there is liquidity for under-collateralized derivatives trading.
Blockchains: Solana
Features:
- Allows users to place super-fast orders
- Allows users to bet on the future price of crypto assets
- Brings trading tools found in TradFi onto the Blockchain
- Trading is non-custodial, which means users can trade right from their crypto wallets.
- Only offers paid subscriptions
Related dApps: Erasure, Solrise Finance, Hakka Finance
Opyn – Best for Creating and Trading Options
Opyn is one of the most popular DeFi Options trading platforms on Web3 out of Europe. The protocol majors in creating and trading options on ERC20 tokens.
Blockchains: Ethereum, Polygon, Avalanche
Features:
- Users can buy, sell, and create Ethereum-based options.
- Opyn’s smart contracts help DeFi users to hedge against risks and to speculate on crypto.
- Opyn provides free limit orders to its users
- The platform is free to use – no paid subscriptions
Related dApps: PieDAO, Proxy, CVI Finance
Hegic – Best for Peer-to-Pool Options Trading
Hegic is an options trading platform primarily built on Arbitrum. One of the hallmarks of Hegic is the peer-to-pool trading capability. Users can trade at any time from a rich liquidity pool.
Blockchains: Ethereum, Arbitrum
Features:
- It works using special smart contracts that bring transparency and trustlessness.
- Hegic has the peer-to-pool trading capability.
- Specializes only in ETH and wBTC assets
- Users can write options contracts and earn rewards on the platform
- The platform is free to use – no paid subscriptions
Related dApps: Perpetual Protocol, Synthetic, Drift
Final Thoughts
These DeFi protocols will revolutionize the blockchain industry in the future- and that future is not too distant. Now that the United States is moving to adopt crypto, DeFi options might become the target of a tremendous amount of money influx from TradFi. The traditional derivatives industry has a market cap of over $400 Quadrillion – think about it.