OrBit and BlockFills Execute the First American Barrier Derivative on Bitcoin

August 22, 2022 OrBit Markets, an institutional liquidity provider in crypto options and structured products, has executed the first American barrier (“One-Touch”) product with BlockFills, a global digital asset trading and financial technology company.

As the digital assets market evolves, more investors are exploring advanced options strategies for hedging, investment, and yield enhancement, but few market makers are able to provide liquidity in these complex products. Founded this year by a team from Deutsche Bank’s currency division, OrBit aims to bridge this gap by bringing expertise to the digital asset market.

An American barrier option, also known as a One Touch, is a derivative 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. Our proprietary risk systems and quantitative models can manufacture completely customized 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," says Caroline Mauron, CEO and co-founder of OrBit.

“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,” says Perry Parker, Head of Derivatives Trading at BlockFills.