Edward Yu – Bringing OTC On-Chain and the VariationalOMNI Perp Dex (S7E18)

In this episode of Flirting with Models, Corey Hoffstein interviews Edward Yu, co-founder of Variational, about his journey into crypto, starting with stat arb and OTC markets. Yu discusses the evolution of crypto OTC from Telegram chats to sophisticated RFQ systems, highlighting the importance of natural flow and the challenges of pricing derivatives on altcoins. The conversation shifts to Variational, a protocol designed to bring OTC derivatives on-chain by disaggregating settlement, margining, and payoff logic. Yu explains OMNI, a perp dex built on Variational, which acts as a user interface to an OTC RFQ system, with OLP (OMNI Liquidity Provider) providing liquidity. They discuss the pros, cons, and risks of OMNI's unique structure, its revenue model, and its potential to compete with traditional market structures.