Synthetix proposes $27 million token swap to acquire options protocol Derive

Synthetix contributors proposed acquiring Derive (formerly Lyra), a decentralized options protocol, through an SNX-for-DRV token swap.

If approved, Synthetix would acquire Derive's treasury, technology, and product suite, with DRV holders receiving SNX under a defined vesting schedule.

The proposed valuation is $27 million, per Synthetix Improvement Proposal (SIP-415). The proposal is subject to community approval through an onchain vote.

Synthetix's move aligns with its strategy of vertical reintegration to improve its protocol capabilities on the Ethereum mainnet, particularly for Synthetix v4.

"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 Synthetix team noted in a blog post .

The proposal entails a DRV-to-SNX token swap at a ratio of 27:1 — meaning 27 DRV tokens would be exchanged for 1 SNX token. DRV holders would receive SNX under vesting terms, including a three-month lock-up and nine-month linear vesting.

Synthetix plans to issue 29.3 million new SNX tokens ($27 million) to facilitate the acquisition. The proposed move is part of Synthetix's broader strategy to consolidate and improve its ecosystem, following previous acquisitions such as Kwenta (a perpetual futures platform) and TLX (a leveraged tokens platform).

Derive's technology enables CLOB perpetuals with onchain settlement acceleration. The acquisition could potentially open the possibility of launching a dedicated Synthetix derivatives exchange — leveraging Derive's CLOB infrastructure. According to Synthetix, this infrastructure "can be merged with Synthetix to rival Hyperliquid, Binance, Deribit, and dYdX."