RFQ (Request for Quote)

RFQ (request for quote) is a trading model where, instead of placing an order against a public order book, you ask a network of dealers or market makers for a price on a specific trade — often a larger size or a multi-leg structure — and they quote you directly. Whoever offers the best price gets the trade. It’s the standard way large or complex options trades get executed in traditional finance, and per public research, historically on Deribit through the Paradigm network specifically.

RFQ solves a problem a public order book handles poorly: a large or multi-leg trade can move a thin public book against you before it fully fills, a cost sometimes called price impact or slippage. Negotiating a price directly with a dealer network avoids telegraphing a large order to the whole market before it executes. The tradeoff is that RFQ pricing depends on the depth and competitiveness of the dealer network itself — a thin RFQ network can quote worse prices than a deep public book would, for a smaller or simpler trade.

In 2026, RFQ became a live part of the onchain options conversation through Paradigm’s network being made reachable via Paradex — see our Paradex review for what that integration actually is and what we could and couldn’t verify about it. See The Complete Guide to Onchain Options for how RFQ fits alongside CLOB, AMM, and vault models as one of several distinct ways an options venue can be built.