Change To Inverse Option Delivery Process

Deribit, the crypto derivatives exchange, has announced that from 1 August 2026 it will apply its futures-settlement delivery process to inverse (coin-settled) options. The move follows a similar change made to linear (USDC-settled) options in April 2026.

Under the new process, in-the-money (ITM) inverse options at expiry will first be physically settled into a futures contract, which then subsequently settles into cash. The net profit or loss for traders remains identical to the previous method, as the futures contract uses the same 30-minute TWAP of the index at expiry for its cash settlement.

A key benefit for traders is the potential for lower delivery fees. While a delivery fee is still charged when an ITM option is physically settled into the futures contract, any existing offsetting position on that futures contract can reduce the net futures position size before delivery fees are calculated. If the option settlement flips the futures position direction, no delivery fee applies for the futures leg. If there is no offsetting position, total delivery fees remain unchanged.

The exchange provided examples illustrating the equivalence. For instance, a trader long one BTC call option with a strike of $100,000 expiring at $125,000 would receive 0.2 BTC under both methods. The trade log will now show an extra step: the physical settlement into the futures position followed by the delivery entry for the futures contract. Out-of-the-money options will simply show an “expiry” entry.

No action is required from traders, but API users and those with automated accounting scripts should review their integration to recognise the temporary futures position created during the expiry window. The change applies to all inverse options expiring on or after 1 August 2026.