Ribbon Finance To Tap Ethereum Interest with Options Exchange

DeFi protocol is cutting the proverbial ribbon on an options exchange it hopes will generate $100 million in daily volume despite frosty market conditions

article-image

Source: Shutterstock

share

key takeaways

  • DeFi derivatives platform Ribbon Finance is hoping to build on the success of its previous product launches
  • Ribbon said it aims to tap into the buzz surrounding ether post-merge

DeFi derivates platform Ribbon Finance announced the launch of its Ethereum-based options exchange Tuesday, allowing users to trade directly from their smart wallets.

Dubbed Aevo, the exchange’s executives are hoping to generate $100 million in daily volume within a six-month timeframe by encouraging traders to tap into more than 100 instruments with varying expirations.

That might be easier said than done considering crypto’s recent downturn and bear market cycle, which has all but sapped liquidity and sent retail investors fleeing for the exits.

Still, its founders are pinning their hopes on Ethereum’s post-merge honeymoon period, that might help warm investors around to an otherwise frosty period in the spot market.

As of September, the total trading volume for ether options has remained steady at roughly $11 billion across Deribit, OKx, Bit.com CME and Huobi. That’s down from around $15 billion seen in May, Glassnode data shows.

“With the majority of total value locked in our platform coming from the Ethereum ecosystem, we have always regarded it as our home ground,” Ribbon’s CEO Julian Koh said.

Aevo will initially start with ETH options and then launch BTC as well as other contracts in the following months, Ribbon said in a statement.

This isn’t Ribbon’s first product launch. The platform focuses on structured products — a category familiar in traditional finance but on the rise in DeFi — and says it invented the concept known as Decentralized Option Vaults (DOV) which allows users to generate yield through various predefined strategies. 

Before the invention of DOVs, option strategies were previously only available to accredited investors through over-the-counter trading.

It also rolled out lending and earning products that offer users principle-protected yields designed to protect against losses in the underlying asset at maturity.

To date, Ribbon said its products have traded more than $6 billion in options volume while maintaining a presence on Ethereum, Avalanche, and Solana.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

🚀 Build What’s Next — Permissionless IV Hackathon Join us June 22–23 in Brooklyn for the Permissionless IV Hackathon — a 36-hour sprint hosted by Cracked Labs and Blockworks where top builders turn ideas into real products. Come to launch, not just […]

recent research

Research Report Templates (10).png

Research

Kamino has evolved into a full-stack asset scaling suite with V2: unlocking new markets, improving capital efficiency, and catering to various risk profiles. We believe it is best positioned to become the credit backbone of Solana as the ecosystem matures. Simply put, KMNO remains our highest-conviction bet in the Solana ecosystem. This report lays out our thesis.

article-image

Greenwood was a success story before it was a tragedy

article-image

All eight included staking in their most recent SEC filings

article-image

With an updated Summary of Economic Projections, the Fed sees growth slowing and inflation increasing

article-image

Where do crypto mobile games go from here?

article-image

Bybit’s Byreal, Binance Alpha and Coinbase’s DEX integrations

article-image

This isn’t the worst hack to ever hit Mt. Gox, but it could be the most entertaining