{
  "$schema": "https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/schemas/article-v1.json",
  "schemaVersion": "1.0.0",
  "id": "options-settlement-currency",
  "canonical": "https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/options-settlement-currency/",
  "collection": "defi",
  "title": "Option settlement currency: why a dollar payoff can become a token amount",
  "description": "Identify what an option pays, in which asset, and why a dollar strike does not imply a dollar cash balance at expiry.",
  "aliases": [
    "crypto inverse linear options settlement",
    "why a dollar strike option pays BTC"
  ],
  "dates": {
    "published": "2026-10-02",
    "modified": "2026-10-02",
    "verified": "2026-10-02T19:18:00.092Z",
    "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02"
  },
  "authorship": {
    "publisher": "Degrees of Satoshi editorial project",
    "process": "AI-assisted research and drafting with a separate automated source-verification pass; no external expert or named human review is implied."
  },
  "quickAnswer": {
    "text": "An option’s settlement currency determines the asset used to pay its result. Quotation currency, strike denomination and settlement currency can differ. Deribit’s documented inverse BTC and ETH options settle economically in the base coin; since 1 August 2026, in-the-money expiries pass through an inverse future before that future cash-settles.",
    "claimId": "options-settlement-currency-quick-answer",
    "sourceIds": [
      "x425-defi-deribit-inverse"
    ]
  },
  "keyFacts": [
    {
      "label": "Base coin",
      "value": "Inverse BTC options settle economically in BTC; inverse ETH options in ETH.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-defi-deribit-inverse"
      ],
      "id": "base-coin",
      "claimId": "options-settlement-currency-fact-base-coin"
    },
    {
      "label": "Two steps",
      "value": "The cited post-August-2026 process creates a future then settles it.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-defi-deribit-inverse"
      ],
      "id": "two-steps",
      "claimId": "options-settlement-currency-fact-two-steps"
    },
    {
      "label": "Exercise style",
      "value": "European exercise occurs at expiry, while market trading can close a position earlier.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-defi-deribit-inverse"
      ],
      "id": "exercise-style",
      "claimId": "options-settlement-currency-fact-exercise-style"
    }
  ],
  "prerequisites": [
    "crypto-call-put-options"
  ],
  "sections": [
    {
      "id": "example",
      "heading": "Translate the payoff into settlement units",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-defi-deribit-inverse"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "Consider an illustrative one-BTC call with a 60,000-dollar strike and a 75,000-dollar delivery price. Its gross dollar-equivalent intrinsic value is 15,000, corresponding to 15,000 / 75,000 = 0.2 BTC before costs.",
        "If the premium paid was 0.03 BTC, the difference is 0.17 BTC before fees. A fiat-currency performance calculation must also account for when and at what exchange rate each coin cash flow is valued."
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "records",
      "heading": "Two entries can represent one economic expiry",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-defi-deribit-inverse"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "Under the cited current process, an in-the-money option becomes an inverse future at its strike and that future immediately settles in the base coin. Deribit states the net financial result matches the former direct settlement. An accounting import should not count the temporary future as a separate discretionary trade or double-count the payout."
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "scope",
      "heading": "Check the instrument, not just the venue",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-defi-deribit-inverse",
        "x425-defi-deribit-settlement"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "These details concern inverse options. Other contracts can use different collateral, multipliers or settlement assets. Daily account settlement and final option expiry are also different events. Use the exact instrument specification and transaction log when reconciling what was paid."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "question": "Does a dollar strike mean I receive dollars?",
      "answer": "No. It may define the payoff calculation while payment occurs in another asset.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-defi-deribit-inverse"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": "options-settlement-currency-quick-answer",
      "articleSlug": "options-settlement-currency",
      "statement": "An option’s settlement currency determines the asset used to pay its result. Quotation currency, strike denomination and settlement currency can differ. Deribit’s documented inverse BTC and ETH options settle economically in the base coin; since 1 August 2026, in-the-money expiries pass through an inverse future before that future cash-settles.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-1db71f7a31d87f8e"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-1db71f7a31d87f8e",
          "locator": "Settlement process change; Settlement examples"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "defi",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T19:18:00.092Z",
        "reviewer": "Independent automated verification — Codex root, separate from the DeFi drafting agent",
        "notes": [
          "Fresh Deribit inverse-option source confirms1August2026 two-step option-to-future then base-coin settlement;15000/75000=.2BTC, minus.03=.17BTC with fiat timing caveat."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "options-settlement-currency-fact-base-coin",
      "articleSlug": "options-settlement-currency",
      "statement": "Base coin: Inverse BTC options settle economically in BTC; inverse ETH options in ETH.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-1db71f7a31d87f8e"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-1db71f7a31d87f8e",
          "locator": "Settlement process change; Settlement examples"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "defi",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T19:18:00.092Z",
        "reviewer": "Independent automated verification — Codex root, separate from the DeFi drafting agent",
        "notes": [
          "Fresh Deribit inverse-option source confirms1August2026 two-step option-to-future then base-coin settlement;15000/75000=.2BTC, minus.03=.17BTC with fiat timing caveat."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "options-settlement-currency-fact-two-steps",
      "articleSlug": "options-settlement-currency",
      "statement": "Two steps: The cited post-August-2026 process creates a future then settles it.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-1db71f7a31d87f8e"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-1db71f7a31d87f8e",
          "locator": "Settlement process change; Settlement examples"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "defi",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T19:18:00.092Z",
        "reviewer": "Independent automated verification — Codex root, separate from the DeFi drafting agent",
        "notes": [
          "Fresh Deribit inverse-option source confirms1August2026 two-step option-to-future then base-coin settlement;15000/75000=.2BTC, minus.03=.17BTC with fiat timing caveat."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "options-settlement-currency-fact-exercise-style",
      "articleSlug": "options-settlement-currency",
      "statement": "Exercise style: European exercise occurs at expiry, while market trading can close a position earlier.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-1db71f7a31d87f8e"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-1db71f7a31d87f8e",
          "locator": "Settlement process change; Settlement examples"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "defi",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T19:18:00.092Z",
        "reviewer": "Independent automated verification — Codex root, separate from the DeFi drafting agent",
        "notes": [
          "Fresh Deribit inverse-option source confirms1August2026 two-step option-to-future then base-coin settlement;15000/75000=.2BTC, minus.03=.17BTC with fiat timing caveat."
        ]
      }
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "x425-defi-deribit-inverse",
      "label": "Inverse Options",
      "publisher": "Deribit",
      "url": "https://support.deribit.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/articles/31424939096093.json",
      "locator": "Settlement process change; Settlement examples",
      "note": "Official support article retrieved through its public Help Center API; inverse settlement specifications.",
      "version": "Documentation retrieved for the 2026-10-02 editorial scope; content hash recorded",
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:53:21.588Z",
      "contentSha256": "d648f6f4969da582789840dfaa4fa5e10321e95dc03c514d1d99f21c83fafac1",
      "recordId": "source-1db71f7a31d87f8e"
    },
    {
      "id": "x425-defi-deribit-settlement",
      "label": "Settlement",
      "publisher": "Deribit",
      "url": "https://support.deribit.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/articles/29734325712413.json",
      "locator": "Daily settlement versus expiration",
      "note": "Official support article retrieved through its public API; venue-specific mechanics.",
      "version": "Support article retrieved 2026-10-02; hash recorded",
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T19:02:03.014Z",
      "contentSha256": "8bb116d7febb3edb2541e403f598cf112d9a6447c0c30dc2d6fcab0907147e97",
      "recordId": "source-ec50b60aee003176"
    }
  ],
  "related": {
    "articles": [
      "realized-unrealized-trading-pnl",
      "option-premium-intrinsic-time-value",
      "mark-index-last-price",
      "implied-volatility-options",
      "spot-perpetual-basis-risk"
    ],
    "dossiers": [],
    "wallets": []
  },
  "revisionHistory": [
    {
      "date": "2026-10-02",
      "kind": "published",
      "summary": "First publication after primary-source research and separate automated verification."
    }
  ],
  "citation": "Degrees of Satoshi editorial project. “Option settlement currency: why a dollar payoff can become a token amount.” Published 2026-10-02; updated 2026-10-02. https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/options-settlement-currency/"
}