How to Trade On-Chain Options Using Zeta Markets

Zeta (ΞΆ) is an under-collateralized and cross-margined DeFi derivatives platform on Solana.

This guide will show you how to open and close a put option on SOL. For a more comprehensive overview of Zeta’s trading platform, be sure to refer to their documentation. Here are their primers on options and futures as well.

Zeta lets you use USDC as collateral to trade a growing list of assets with leverage. Remember, if you’re leverage multiplier is over 1.0x, you’re borrowing money every time you place a trade!

Step 1

  • Go to zeta.markets and click Launch App.
  • Connect your Solflare wallet.
  • Click on Account Equity on the top right of the page, and then click Deposit.
  • Choose how much USDC you want to deposit and click Deposit.

Your first deposit requires ~0.05 SOL to pay Solana network fees for account creation and you’ll want more SOL in your wallet to pay for future transaction fees (which are minuscule but they’re not zero).

  • Approve the transaction.

Step 2

  • Decide the strike price and expiration date and choose an option contract that you want to buy.

We’ll place a bid for a call with a $48 strike price.

  • Type in which limit price you’re willing to pay on the top right of the screen and click Buy Call.
  • Approve the transaction.

Zeta only accepts limit orders, post-only orders, and fill-or-kill orders for options so you’ll have to wait until your order gets filled. Once the order is filled, you can either wait for the option to expire and follow Zeta’s procedures on that, or you can sell it before it expires for either a profit or a loss.

Closing your position

  • Click on the toggle next to your PNL and click Close Position.
  • Decide what price you are willing to sell the call for and click Close Position.

This will be another limit order.

  • Approve the transaction.

You’re all set

Once the limit order is filled (as long as you don’t have any other open orders or trades), you’re account’s available balance will revert back to your total account balance meaning you have no open orders or trades.