OrBit Markets Claims Crypto Option First with BlockFills

Crypto options and structured products liquidity provider OrBit Markets says it has executed the first American barrier option (a “one-touch”) on Bitcoin with digital asset trading firm BlockFills.

OrBit Markets was founded earlier this year by a team of former Deutsche Bank executives from its FX business to provide liquidity in crypto derivatives, thus filling what it sees as a big gap in the market by satisfying demand for yield enhancement products and other exotic derivative types.

The One Touch option is a product whose payoff is conditional upon the underlying asset breaching a specific barrier level during the option’s lifetime. Unlike their European-style counterparts, which only depend on the underlying price at expiry time, American barriers require sophisticated option pricing models and numerical algorithms.

“We are now offering institutional counterparties several ground-breaking products on digital assets,” says Caroline Mauron, CEo and co-founder of OrBit. “Our proprietary risk systems and quantitative models can manufacture completely customised derivatives that fit our counterparties’ bespoke needs. We see exotic options as the new frontier in this evolving asset class, and we are delighted we were able to meet BlockFills’ specific requirements in this instance.”

Perry Parker, head of derivatives trading at BlockFills, adds, “BlockFills works with qualified institutional clients across the digital asset spectrum to tailor their risk profiles. The flexibility of one touch and barrier options is a welcome tool to structure cost-effective hedges.”