Why Most Crypto Options Are Still OTC — And How Jetstream Changes That

By the time you finish reading this, you'll know why your favorite DeFi options protocol is still a toy — and why the real flows never leave Telegram.


The Game's Rigged. You Just Didn't Know It.

Everyone talks about how DeFi is eating TradFi. Cute story.

But here's the truth: when it comes to options, DeFi is still stuck in 2017. It's fragmented, collateral-heavy, and functionally unusable for any trader who actually moves size.

That's why most crypto options are still traded OTC. And that's not changing—unless we rebuild the rails themselves.

Enter Jetstream: the platform that brings the capital efficiency of clearing to crypto. On-chain. Real-time. Without needing a spreadsheet and a prayer.


🥷 The Silent Majority: OTC Options Dominate

Let's kill the illusion.

You see some on-chain options volume on-chain and think we're growing? That's the crumbs.

The real size—tens of millions daily—flows through OTC chat groups, PDFs, and messy reconciliation spreadsheets. Because:

  • On-chain margining sucks
  • Capital efficiency is non-existent
  • And DeFi protocols still pretend selling a single put option requires full collateral

You think market makers are going to lock 100% collateral for every leg of a spread? Lol. No. They run it through Deribit or do it OTC, then hedge it manually wherever it's cheapest.


📉 Why On-Chain Options Are Broken

Let's be blunt:

  1. Zero Netting Logic
    On-chain options protocols don't offset risk. Sell one put, buy another, and you're still on the hook for both margins. TradFi cleared that up decades ago.
  2. 100% Collateralization
    A joke. TradFi margin desks would laugh you out of the room. You're not selling options, you're parking money and hoping someone takes the other side.
  3. No Clearing = No Trust
    Without clearing, the protocol is just a fancy venue. The real risk is still on you. That doesn't scale, especially not for funds running billions.

🚀 What Jetstream Gets Right

Jetstream isn't another front-end DEX trying to farm TVL. It's a platform built on Pascal Protocol — DeFi's first actual clearing engine.

Here's how it flips the model:

Portfolio-Based Margining

You get credited for offsetting risk. That bull put spread? You only lock what you're actually exposed to. You know… like a real margin system.

On-Chain, Real-Time Clearing

No middlemen. No 24-hour reconciliation. Your trades clear in real-time with deterministic logic. Built-in transparency, no surprises.

OTC Give-Up Support

Did your trade start in Telegram? Fine. Pipe it into Jetstream to clear. Now it's netted, settled, and tracked on-chain — without trusting your counterparty to wire on time.

Capital Efficiency on Day One

No more overposting. You free up collateral, trade more, hedge better, and stop playing in sandbox protocols pretending to be adult venues.


💡 Why This Changes Everything

Here's the big idea:

The reason crypto options haven't gone fully on-chain isn't demand. It's margin.

Market makers, funds, and desks want to trade options. They already are. But they need infrastructure that lets them do it without locking 100% of their treasury in every position.

That infrastructure? Jetstream + Pascal Protocol.

It's not another exchange. It's the backend rails the real market needs to migrate.


📈 What Happens Next?

Simple:

  • Derivatives grow up
  • OTC trades go on-chain
  • DeFi finally unlocks the volume it's missing

If you're a trader, builder, or just tired of holding your breath every time you open a position on-chain — Jetstream is your exit from fragility.


⚙️ TL;DR

  • Most crypto options are still traded OTC — because DeFi margin models are broken.
  • Jetstream clears that up (literally) with portfolio margining and on-chain netting.
  • It's built for serious flow — not memes, not gimmicks.
  • The future of options is composable, transparent, and capital-efficient.
  • The future of options is Jetstream.

🔗 Try it now → jetstream.trade