Synthetic Acquires Derive's Perpetuals Exchange

An Ethereum-based derivatives protocol has announced plans to acquire the decentralised options platform and former Synthetix ecosystem project

The company will be issuing 29.3 million new SNX tokens (around $27 million) to facilitate the acquisition if approved by the Spartan Council and Derive governance. The vesting terms include a three-month lock-up and nine-month linear vesting for DRV holders who receive SNX.

The company's native token, SNX, has risen by over 240% over the past year, although it has since fallen by 90% from its all-time high reached in August 2022.

If the proposal gains approval, Synthetix will acquire Derive’s treasury, technology, and product suite. The acquisition is part of the derivatives protocol's strategy of vertical integration to improve its protocol capabilities on the Ethereum mainnet.

"This acquisition accelerates Synthetix's push towards a leading Ethereum mainnet perps engine, by integrating Derive's capabilities and team into the core protocol," the company wrote in a blog post on Wednesday.

The company explained that the acquisition will expand its product suite, with Derive's CLOB-based perpetuals exchange delivering a hybrid decentralised derivatives stack with advanced Options Trading infrastructure on the table which can be merged with Synthetix.

It will also benefit from a combined experience from both teams, further complementing Synthetix DNA and roadmap.

"Derive was born from the same DNA," added Kain Warwick, founder of Synthetix. "Reuniting under one banner simplifies our architecture and governance and unlocks the next phase. This is the kids going out to build their own successful start-ups, and coming back to join the family business."