DRV: One Token, Full Alignment

TLDR

Derive is, and always has been, structured around a single asset: DRV. There is no equity layer or outside investors extracting protocol value. There are no competing incentive structures. DRV is the only governance and coordination mechanism in the ecosystem. Governance, contributor compensation, and value accrual all flow through DRV and have since day one.

No Equity, No Competing Interests

Most DeFi protocols raise venture capital into an equity vehicle that sits alongside — and often above — the token. Equity holders capture protocol upside through contractual rights that tokenholders don't share. The result: two classes of stakeholder with misaligned incentives.

Derive has never done this - never raised external capital into a separate equity structure. Protocol development and ecosystem growth have been funded entirely through DRV. Core contributors - current and future - are compensated with salary and DRV. No equity has been issued to investors.

This is a structural choice that makes DRV the only way to participate in the future of the protocol. We believe that this will become the norm for quality onchain assets. Market participants should accept nothing less than full alignment.

Protocol Revenue

Derive has been the leading onchain options protocol for 5 years, processing over $22B in notional options volume to date.

Protocol fee revenue is allocated by governance:

• 25% of net fees → DRV buybacks

• 75% of net fees → onchain insurance fund

All fee parameters are controlled by DRV holders through tokenholder votes. There is no discretionary allocation. The protocol's revenue belongs to its governance.

The Derive Foundation

DAOs can't sign contracts, hold IP, or operate in the legal world. The Derive Foundation (Cayman Islands) exists to bridge that gap: it represents the DAO, implements governance decisions, manages treasury operations, and enters into legal agreements on behalf of DRV holders.

The Foundation also holds the full intellectual property stack - not just the smart contracts, but the proprietary orderbook and RFQ infrastructure that powers Derive's execution layer. This IP is held for the benefit of the DAO, not a separate corporate entity. The Foundation is the offchain steward of Derive and is bound to the decisions of DRV via the DAO.

Certain members of the core contributors to DRV formed a corporation for purposes of continuing to support DRV and Derive but as a coordinated group that can assess and address strategic needs of Derive and as a contractual service provider to the Foundation and the DAO to implement governance decisions. Only the contributors own Derive Labs. It has not taken in outside investment, and retains no IP rights to any technology or brand developed on behalf of the Foundation.

The Opportunity Ahead

Global options carry roughly $150T in notional outstanding across asset classes. Digital asset options sit at ~$60B notional - about 0.04% of the total. On-chain perps have already taken meaningful share from centralized exchanges; options appear to be following the same path. Since Q4 2025, Derive has grown from ~0.20% of Deribit's daily volume in November 2025 to ~3% so far in March 2026.

The opportunity isn't limited to digital assets. Derive's infrastructure - its orderbook, RFQ system, and settlement layer - is asset-agnostic. The same system that prices ETH options today can bring any options market on-chain. Derive's addressable market is the global options market.

One Token, Full Alignment

As onchain options move from niche to norm, DRV holders own the governance, the economics, and the upside of the protocol leading that shift. When governance, compensation, and value accrual all point at the same token, the system is structurally simple. No hidden cap table. No liquidation preferences. No second instrument diluting the picture. DRV is the only instrument that captures the protocol's economic upside.