Welcome back to World Ledger. I am Coco. I am delighted to share a new episode of the podcast with Nick Forster, Founder of Derive, an options DEX.
In the beginning, I wasn’t on board with interviewing Nick. I had already interviewed SynFutures, another options DEX headquartered in Singapore, back in April. Plus, I had some international trips coming up and was feeling a little overwhelmed.
But after I returned from my travels, I changed my mind. Part of the reason was that the person representing Nick was persistent; the other part was that I learned Nick used to work for SIG, a firm where one of my family members spent over a decade. On the day we recorded the interview, we encountered some technical glitches. I had to improvise and use a recording platform I had never used before.
But it turned out well.
I respect Nick’s grit in overcoming twin challenges: on one hand, the on-chain technology simply wasn’t ready when he began building Derive; on the other, the market for on-chain options was still tiny. On top of that, there weren’t many available Web3 developers.
I also respect his vision. Coming from equity options powerhouse SIG, he was convinced that decentralized platforms held far greater potential—easier integration, better pricing, and more transparency, to name a few advantages.
I realize that most, if not all, decentralized derivative product platforms have been created outside of the U.S. and are not available to U.S. residents and citizens, for regulatory reasons. I hope things will change soon.
We also discussed Coinbase’s plan to acquire Deribit. The news of the $2.9B acquisition hadn’t broken at the time we recorded the podcast.
Out of curiosity, I asked Nick about his thoughts on a potential exit for Derive. He said there were no plans, for now. Interestingly, just a couple of days ago, the news dropped:
“Synthetix makes $27M bid through token swap to re-acquire Derive.”, reported by Cointelegraph.
Synthetix, founded in 2017 and headquartered in Australia, has raised over $35 million over the years, mostly during the previous cycle.
Derive had originally spun out of Synthetix in its early days. The deal is now subject to approval by both communities via a vote in the coming week. If completed, this acquisition could spur further consolidation in the DeFi space.
Like most altcoins, Synthetix’s token has dropped significantly from its peak. See image below.
Here’s a sneak peek at our conversation about Coinbase, Deribit, and why DEXs are ready to take on CEXs.
Nick founded Derive about 5 years ago. Before that, he worked as an equity options trader at Susquehanna International Group. He studied mathematics and economics at St. Paul’s College, University of Sydney.
I do not hold any tokens of Derive or Synthetix, nor was I compensated for this interview. None of the content here or in my podcast constitutes investment advice.
Thank you for reading. Until next time.
Coco
I am Coco Kee, author and host of World Ledger with Coco Kee newsletter and podcast, a rebrand from BlockchainAsia, the Co-founder of Kee Global Advisors, and a dog lover with a Goldendoodle Lucy.
Follow me on LinkedIn | X or email me: worldledger@substack.com
World Ledger with Coco Kee podcast is available on Substack Podcast and most, if not all, podcast platforms, such as Apple Podcasts, YouTube Podcast, Amazon Music Podcasters, Overcast, CastBox, iHeart Podcasts, Goodpods, and more.
The content in the newsletter and podcast is for informational and educational purposes only, represents personal views and opinions, and does not constitute investment advice or recommendations.
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