Inverse vs linear options
Inverse options are quoted, margined and settled in the coin itself, like the coin-margined BTC and ETH options BOSS follows on Deribit and OKX; linear options are quoted and settled in a stablecoin, like the ones BOSS follows on Bybit, so their payoff in dollars is the textbook one.
Two ways to pay for the same bet
A BTC option's payoff is defined in dollars: a call pays S − K above the strike. What differs between venues is the currency you pay and get paid in.
- Inverse (coin-settled): on Deribit and OKX, the coin-margined BTC and ETH options BOSS follows are quoted in the coin (a call at 0.05 BTC), the premium and the payoff are paid in the coin, and margin is posted in the coin. An in-the-money call pays (S − K) / S coins at expiry, the dollar payoff converted at the settlement price. Both venues also list linear, stablecoin-margined options (Deribit in USDC, OKX in USDT and USDC), which BOSS doesn't follow.
- Linear (stablecoin-settled): on Bybit, options are quoted and settled in a stablecoin (USDC or USDT). A call pays S − K dollars, and margin is in dollars.
Measured in dollars at expiry, the payoffs are the same. The difference is everything around them.
The payoff in coin
Buy a $100,000 BTC call for 0.05 BTC with BTC at $100,000 ($5,000). If BTC settles at $120,000, it pays 20,000 / 120,000 ≈ 0.1667 BTC, worth exactly $20,000. In coin terms the payoff is not linear: each extra dollar of rally adds fewer coins. A put is the other way: the $100,000 put pays (K − S) / S coins, 1 BTC if BTC settles at $50,000 and 4 BTC at $20,000. In coin, a put's payoff has no ceiling as the price falls.
Why coin-margined sellers carry extra risk
A seller on an inverse venue holds the coin as collateral, so a fall in the price hits twice: the option loses, and the collateral shrinks. A worked example:
- Start with 1 BTC of margin and sell a $100,000 put for 0.04 BTC, with BTC at $100,000. The account holds 1.04 BTC, worth $104,000.
- BTC settles at $70,000. The put costs 30,000 / 70,000 ≈ 0.4286 BTC, leaving 0.6114 BTC, worth $42,800.
- The dollar loss is $61,200: $30,000 on the put and $31,200 from holding 1.04 BTC through a 30% fall.
- The same trade on a linear venue, with $100,000 of USDC margin: $100,000 + $4,000 − $30,000 = $74,000, a $30,000 loss.
After collecting the premium, the coin-margined seller was, without trading anything else, also long 1.04 BTC. That can be a choice (a holder of coins selling puts or calls against them), but it is exposure to account for, and it makes margin calls and liquidation come faster in a sell-off. It can be hedged with a short future or perpetual on the coin.
How BOSS puts them side by side
To compare venues, BOSS converts every inverse price to dollars when it arrives: the coin price times that expiry's forward, the price the venue values the option against. A 0.05 BTC premium with a $100,400 forward is $5,020. Bybit's prices are already in dollars. Strikes, breakevens, payoffs, fees and Greeks are all in dollars on every venue, so a strategy page and the venue comparison read the same way whatever the settlement currency.
Converting at the forward rather than spot keeps put-call parity in dollars intact. What the conversion can't remove is the collateral currency: a dollar figure on an inverse venue is a coin amount converted at the expiry's forward, and your account's dollar value still moves with the coin.
Live on BOSS
A long put compared across venues: Deribit and OKX, coin-settled, next to Bybit, settled in stablecoins, all converted to dollars, with each venue's index, mid cost, slippage and fees.
Compare venues
These exact contracts -- same strikes, expiries and ratios -- on every venue BOSS tracks for this currency, at execution: what selling (bid) or buying (ask) each leg there comes to, after that venue's own fee. Green marks the best venue for each leg and for the whole structure.
| Deribit this page | Bybit | OKX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long Put $86000.0000 · 09 Oct 2026 | $1409.3079$1383.3698 + fee $25.9382 · IV 33.2% · 4.4000 | $1385.9644$1360.0000 + fee $25.9644 · IV 33.5% · 2.0300 | $1409.2036$1383.2673 + fee $25.9363 · IV 32.7% · 28.6600 |
| Index? | $86387.4800 | $86425.0253 | $86397.5000 |
| Mid-Price Cost | $1340.1395 | $1355.0000 | $1361.6538 |
| Slippage? | +$43.2303 | +$5.0000 | +$21.6136 |
| Estimated Fees? | +$25.9382 | +$25.9644 | +$25.9363 |
| Total Estimated Cost | $1409.3079 | $1385.9644$23.3400 better than this page | $1409.2036$0.1000 better than this page |
| Max Profit? | Uncapped | Uncapped | Uncapped |
| Max Loss? | -$1409.3079 | -$1385.9644 | -$1409.2036 |
| Breakeven(s)? | $84590.6921 | $84614.0356 | $84590.7964 |
| Structure IV? | 33.2% | 33.5% | 32.7% |
| Open on this venue → | Open on this venue → |
Each leg: what it nets there per contract (fill price with the fee folded in), then the fill price, fee, IV and the size quoted at that price.
Cross-venue differences
No leg prices better on another venue than where the rest of the structure does: splitting it gains nothing.
| Contract | Best sale | Best purchase elsewhere | Difference | Size | IV spread (points) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Put $86000.0000 · 09 Oct 2026 | $1314.1040 OKX | $1385.9644 Bybit | -$71.8604 | 2.0300 | 0.7 Bybit 33.5% / OKX 32.7% |
For comparing prices, not a recommendation: quotes move by the second, size is only what's shown at the top of the book, fees are each venue's published estimate, and the venues settle against different indexes and margin separately.
Common mistakes
- Selling puts on a coin-margined account without counting the collateral's own fall in a sell-off.
- Comparing a coin-quoted premium with a dollar one without converting at the expiry's forward.
- Assuming an inverse put's coin payoff is capped: as the price falls it pays ever more coins.
- Forgetting that a dollar P&L on an inverse venue changes again with the coin's price until you convert it.
Where this shows up on BOSS
Educational content, not investment advice. See the disclaimer.