⚡ Our Vision
Standardizing the On-chain Options Market
Last updated
Standardizing the On-chain Options Market
Last updated
The collapse of centralized players such as Celsius and FTX in 2022 underscores the urgent need for a more resilient, transparent, and decentralized infrastructure that empowers users to fully control their assets.
Moby aims to address this need by offering an options protocol that embodies decentralization's principles and intrinsic benefits, ensuring a more seamless and secure trading experience for all.
Moby's mission revolves around setting the standards for the on-chain options market, which is projected to grow by 118X to $48.6 trillion in the near future.
Our idea to develop an on-chain options protocol stems from the observation that TradFi's options market has historically outstripped both the spot and futures markets in size. This decision is further reinforced by the unique advantages of options as financial instruments and the anticipation that the on-chain options market will emulate the growth trajectory of TradFi options.
There are already signals that bolster the argument above. For instance, the Open Interest (OI) for both BTC and ETH options surpassed that of futures at the end of 2023, and options-relevant sectors, such as the tokenized asset market, are also projected to become $16.0 trillion by 2030.
Despite the growth potential of on-chain options, both CEX and DEX models face critical challenges:
Orderbook-based CEXs necessitate a substantial commitment from market makers (MMs) due to the considerable volatility and the extensive assortment of strike prices and expiration dates within the options market, which results in an increased number of orderbooks.
Additionally, the perpetual operation of the cryptocurrency options market, which is active 24/7, requires MMs to significantly amplify their trading hours, greatly surpassing those of traditional exchanges and intensifying the shortage of MMs.
From the perspective of market takers, over half of global cryptocurrency holders find themselves ineligible to open accounts on CEXs, despite their interest in options trading.
AMM, vault, and orderbook-based DEXs, on the other hand, end up with even thicker spreads and render poor capital efficiency due to their thin liquidity and inability to derive real-time accurate pricing.
Moby upholds the principles of decentralization while merging the best aspects of CEXs and DEXs to launch a leading-edge options protocol for the next DeFi narrative. Pure on-chain transactions backed by a non-custodial wallet experience reinforce Moby’s security, transparency, and autonomy, while its Robinhood-class UI/UX and real-time accurate pricing modules enable traders and LPs to react to market dynamics as swiftly as they would on centralized platforms.
Moby is set to introduce the first on-chain options protocol designed to overcome prevailing market challenges, potentially triggering widespread market growth. This initiative mirrors the impact seen in TradFi, where over 30% of the U.S. options trade volume is now driven by retail traders, a shift prompted by Robinhood's introduction of mobile options trading.
In the long run, Moby expects an increasing number of TradFi institutions entering the crypto asset market. These institutions will require Structured Products to manage large funds securely. Structured Products managed by institutions typically consist of a combination of on-chain Real World Assets (RWAs) such as bonds and options. Moby’s mission is to standardize on-chain options and all other applications such as structured products to meet institutional demand.
