Bankless · Wednesday, September 30, 2026
Variational is introducing a new instrument called 'swaps,' which Lucas Schuermann describes as a 'better perp.' Unlike traditional crypto swaps (like on Uniswap), these are derivatives similar to perps but offer a flat funding rate and are structured to align with how institutional traders operate. This allows Variational to hedge directly onto traditional finance rails and offer benefits like predictable costs and TradFi-level execution to retail traders.
“SWAP is a new type of instrument that we're introducing. It's a type of bilateral instrument, so it's not possible to be listed on an exchange. This is how the biggest hedge funds and trading firms in the world trade is through swaps.”
“But the benefits versus PERPs are, number one, you have a predictable carry cost or predictable funding rate that's much flatter. Number two is it aligns with the way the largest institutions trade.”
“For ease of explanation, it's like a perp but better.”