Optiver Prop Trading: A Quoted Spread Is Not a Finished Profit
Optiver’s About page describes quoting buy and sell prices and using its own capital and technology to provide liquidity. That is useful context for an Optiver prop-trading search. The original example below, checked against that business description on 24 October 2026, explains why one attractive spread does not prove a completed profit.
Continue with this site’s separate research worksheet
Identify the business before looking for an account plan
The reviewed source describes market making and trading, together with research, technology and education. It does not establish that this reader has a client agreement, a job or a purchasable retail challenge. Treat those as separate questions with separate evidence.
A Canadian reader should preserve the instrument and currency in a worked example. A company name or global business description does not establish a local employment opportunity, account acceptance or a Canadian-dollar programme.
A fictional two-sided quote
Suppose an invented instrument is quoted 99.99 bid and 100.01 ask. The displayed spread is 0.02 per unit. If only the bid executes for ten units, the record now contains a purchase costing 999.90 before fees. It does not yet contain a matched sale at 100.01.
If the ten units are later sold at 99.95, the sale proceeds are 999.50. The price-only result is minus 0.40 before costs. This deliberately simple example is not Optiver data, an estimate of its returns, or a complete model of market making.
| Event | Record | Conclusion |
|---|---|---|
| Quote | 99.99 bid / 100.01 ask | 0.02 displayed spread only |
| One-sided fill | Buy 10 at 99.99 = 999.90 | Inventory remains open |
| Later sale | Sell 10 at 99.95 = 999.50 | Both executions now recorded |
| Price-only result | 999.50 − 999.90 = −0.40 | No claim about Optiver returns |
The inventory record prevents a misleading conclusion
Keep the open quantity after each fill, the actual execution prices and the remaining inventory in the record. Distinguish a displayed quote from a fill and a mark from a realised sale. A positive quoted spread cannot substitute for missing executions.
For a general comparison worksheet, add fees, instrument multiplier and timestamp as separate fields. Leave them unresolved when the exercise has not specified them. Do not translate a hypothetical result into a firm’s performance or a recommendation to trade.
Use the appropriate route after answering the search
For Optiver’s business, use its official About page. For recruitment or client services, investigate the relevant official route and its own requirements; this article does not apply or onboard anyone.
The optional HashHedge invitation below concerns a different evaluation programme. It does not provide Optiver employment, liquidity access or an allocation of its capital. Read the destination’s own conditions before choosing whether to register.
Sources and rule dates
- Optiver: global market making and trading
Checked 2026-10-24. Own-capital liquidity provision and business context, not performance, a retail account or personal access.