Variational
9 known investors
Find your way into Variational
Variational operates an on-chain derivatives trading protocol that lets users trade over 500 crypto, stock, commodity and index markets from a single account with up to 50x leverage and no fees. It provides peer-to-peer trading, clearing and settlement of derivatives on-chain.
Also known as Variational Protocol
Founders & leadership
Investors · 9
Also in the syndicate · 2
Funding
SEC filings, press & company announcements$49.7M disclosed across 1 of 3 rounds · 2024–2026
- $49.7MSeries AMay 2026 · 3 sources
Dragonfly (lead), Dragonfly Capital (lead), Bain Capital Crypto, Coinbase Ventures, Peak XV Partners
Source ↗
Source: company announcements and press reports — follow each round's link for the claim.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Variational operates a protocol for peer-to-peer trading, clearing and settlement of on-chain derivatives spanning crypto, equities, commodities and forex. Rather than bootstrapping its own order books, the protocol aggregates liquidity for each market from centralized exchanges, decentralized exchanges and traditional-finance dealers. Trades are executed via a request-for-quote model and settled and cleared on-chain in isolated escrow smart contracts, so a liquidation between two counterparties does not touch other users' margin.
Two applications run on the protocol. Omni, the first app, is a zero-fee perpetual futures venue that lets users trade crypto and traditional-market perps from a single cross-margined account with up to 50x leverage and more than 500 listed markets; it is served by a vertically integrated vault, the Omni Liquidity Provider (OLP), which acts as counterparty to user trades and sources liquidity from CEXs, DEXs and TradFi dealers. Pro, described as next, is an institution-focused settlement layer for customized OTC derivatives, automating booking, clearing and settlement on-chain, allowing counterparties to define bespoke instruments (including expiries, options and structures), set margin and liquidation rules, escrow collateral in segregated contracts and price trades using the Variational Oracle. The documentation also references a $VAR token.
Founding story
Co-founders Lucas V. Schuermann and Edward Yu met as freshmen at Columbia University after being placed in adjoining rooms in an entrepreneurship-focused dorm. They went on to start a quantitative trading firm that was acquired by Digital Currency Group, and left in 2021 to found Variational. Schuermann serves as CEO.
Business model
The protocol supplies trading, clearing and settlement infrastructure for derivatives and licenses it to applications built on top of it, currently the retail-oriented Omni perps venue and the institution-oriented Pro OTC layer.
Omni charges no trading fees regardless of position size; instead of collecting commissions, the platform vertically integrates its own liquidity provider and retains the market-making yield that would otherwise go to external market makers.
Traction
Company materials cite more than $275 billion in cumulative volume, over $1 billion in open interest and 500+ live markets. Headcount reached 24 employees as of May 2026, and the company had raised a $10.3 million seed round and a $50 million Series A.
Latest developments
Following the May 2026 Series A, stated priorities are opening Omni from invite-only access to the public in select jurisdictions, deepening real-world-asset liquidity through additional liquidity partnerships, and adding more tradable assets. Pro is described as the next application on the protocol.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Variational positions itself as a liquidity aggregator and brokerage-like venue rather than an exchange, comparing its zero-fee model to Robinhood and stating that exchanges such as Hyperliquid are venues it relies on rather than direct competitors. Its Pro product targets institutional OTC flow currently handled through informal channels such as Telegram or platforms including Paradigm and Deribit, a market the company says processes upwards of $1 trillion in annual volume.
Liquidity is ported from existing CEX, DEX and traditional-finance dealer sources rather than rebuilt in a new order book, which the founders argue avoids the cold-start problem and enables far more listings; other distinguishing elements are zero trading fees, isolated per-trade risk, and customizable counterparty-defined derivatives.
Technology
On-chain settlement and clearing in isolated escrow smart contracts, a request-for-quote trade negotiation model instead of an order book, cross-margined accounts, a vault-based liquidity provider (OLP) that routes to CEX, DEX and TradFi dealer liquidity, and the Variational Oracle for pricing. The project began on Arbitrum, an Ethereum-based blockchain, and publishes mainnet contract addresses, audits and a bug bounty program.
Go-to-market
Omni has operated on an invite-only basis, with plans to open to the public in select jurisdictions; growth levers cited include additional liquidity partnerships, more tradable listings and an on-chain trader rewards campaign.
Retail and active traders seeking perpetual futures on crypto and traditional assets through Omni, and institutional participants in OTC derivatives markets through Pro.
Geography
Headquartered in the Cayman Islands, with the Omni app planned to open to the public in select jurisdictions.
History
Variational was founded in 2021 after its co-founders departed Digital Currency Group. A $10.3 million seed round led by Bain Capital Crypto closed in 2021 and was announced in 2024, followed by a $50 million Series A led by Dragonfly Capital announced in May 2026. The Omni perpetuals app launched first, initially invite-only, with the institutional Pro product slated to follow.
Risks & controversies
Omni access remains invitation-only and limited to select jurisdictions, and Variational's model depends on continued access to third-party liquidity from centralized exchanges, DEXs and traditional-finance dealers. The company competes in a crowded on-chain derivatives and real-world-asset market that includes venues such as Hyperliquid.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 3
launches, deals, and filingsVariational announced a $50 million Series A round led by Dragonfly Capital with participation from Bain Capital Crypto and Coinbase Ventures. Proceeds are directed at opening the invite-only Omni app to the public in select jurisdictions, adding liquidity partnerships and listing more tradable assets.
$50M source ↗
A $10.3 million seed round led by Bain Capital Crypto closed in 2021 and was announced in 2024.
$10.3M source ↗
Before founding Variational, Lucas Schuermann and Edward Yu started a quantitative trading firm that was acquired by Digital Currency Group; the pair left in 2021 to found Variational.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Variationalvariational.io · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Variational do?
- Variational is an on-chain derivatives protocol whose Omni app offers zero-fee perpetuals across 500+ crypto and traditional markets.
- Who founded Variational?
- Variational was founded by Edward Yu, Lucas Schuermann.
- Who are Variational's investors?
- Variational's investors include AlphaLab Capital, Caladan, Mirana Ventures, Peak XV Partners, Bain Capital Crypto, Coinbase Ventures, Dragonfly.
- How much funding has Variational raised?
- Variational has disclosed $49.7M raised across 1 of its 3 known rounds.