Options Protocol
pip is the front door. Options Protocol is the permissionless layer where anyone can post collateral, write calls and puts on Stock Tokens, earn the premium, and let the oracle settle it. Robinhood put stocks onchain. This puts the derivatives market on top.
Ways to write: covered call, cash-secured put, margin.
Protocol fee on premium, split to LPs, treasury and insurance.
Oracle cadence. Every contract is marked on every print.
Of covered and cash-secured positions are fully collateralised.
Architecture
Collateral goes into vaults, the pricing engine quotes against the oracle, the clearing contract matches buyers and writers, and settlement pays out at expiry. Everything lives on Robinhood Chain.
Signed spot prices for 190+ tokens every 1.2s. Median of three signers with a deviation guard.
Writers lock Stock Tokens or USDG. Collateral is segregated per writer and per expiry.
Fits the vol surface from fills and quotes, then prices every strike and expiry with Black-Scholes plus a liquidity spread.
Mints a contract token to the buyer, records the writer's obligation, and moves premium and fee atomically.
At 20:00 UTC on expiry, freezes the oracle print, pays in-the-money holders from writer collateral, releases the rest.
Backstops naked writers who fall below maintenance margin. Funded by liquidation penalties and 10% of fees.
Roles
You can be on any side of the market from the same wallet. Most people start as buyers and graduate to covered calls once they hold tokens.
Pay a premium, get convexity. Max loss is the premium. This is the pip app experience.
Lock collateral, mint the contract, receive the premium up front. Covered calls against your Stock Tokens are the simplest way in.
Deposit USDG into the shared vault that quotes both sides. LPs earn 70% of protocol fees plus the spread on every fill.
Collateral
Covered and cash-secured positions can never be liquidated: the payout is already in the vault. Only margin writers carry liquidation risk.
| Strategy | You write | Collateral locked | Max loss | Liquidation | Who it's for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Covered call | Call | 100 Stock Tokens per contract | Upside above strike (tokens delivered at K) | Never | Token holders who want yield |
| Cash-secured put | Put | K × 100 USDG per contract | Buying tokens at K if they fall | Never | People who want to buy lower |
| Margin (naked) | Call or put | 20% of notional + premium, marked live | Uncapped for calls | Health < 80% | Market makers, pros |
Covered call calculator
Someone holding 100 NVDA Stock Tokens can write a call against them instead of simply holding. Pick a token, how far above spot to sell, and an expiry.
Writer flow
Six steps, two signatures. The premium lands the moment a buyer fills, not at expiry.
Move Stock Tokens or USDG into your vault. One signature.
Token, call or put, strike, expiry, contracts. The engine quotes the premium live.
Sign once more. Collateral locks, the contract is minted to the order book.
A buyer takes it. Premium minus 0.5% fee lands in your wallet immediately.
Buy back any time at the mark to unlock collateral early, or hold.
Out of the money: collateral released. In the money: payout taken from collateral, rest released.
Risk parameters
Current parameters. Each can be changed by governance vote with a 48-hour timelock.
| Parameter | Value | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Initial margin (naked) | 20% of notional + premium | Covers a 2-day, 99% move for most large caps. |
| Maintenance margin | Health ratio 80% | Liquidation begins below this. Partial liquidation first. |
| Liquidation penalty | 2% of collateral | Paid to the insurance fund and liquidator. |
| Oracle deviation halt | 8% between prints | Pauses new trades and liquidations until three consistent prints. |
| Oracle staleness | 10 seconds | No fills on a stale price. |
| Max open interest per token | 5% of token float | Keeps settlement exposure bounded. |
| Protocol fee | 0.5% of premium | 70% LPs · 20% treasury · 10% insurance. |
| Settlement time | 20:00 UTC on expiry | Fixed, predictable, after US close. |
Contracts & audits
Five Solidity contracts on Robinhood Chain. Verified source and addresses are published here at every release.
| Contract | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| OracleAdapter | Live | Verified on explorer |
| Vault | Live | Verified on explorer |
| PricingEngine | Live | Verified on explorer |
| Clearing | Live | Verified on explorer |
| Settlement | Live | Verified on explorer |
| Audit | Published | Report available on request |
FAQ