Optimal Market Technologies has introduced a new US listed options execution platform. The FINRA-approved broker-dealer is backed by global market makers Optiver and Virtu Financial, along with investors Akuna and BSC Ventures.

Retail participation in US markets has increased, with self-directed investors now accounting for a notable share of equity and options trading. Broker platforms are evolving from administrative tools to systems that support real-time decision-making, execution, and analytics.

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This shift affects product design, risk management, and revenue models, particularly for derivatives and short-dated options, as brokers adjust to investors making independent trading decisions.

Retail Options Surge Drives New Platform

The platform is expected to be commercially available in Q1 2026. It will serve retail options wholesalers, institutional broker-dealers, and large asset managers, with the initial rollout focused on wholesalers. The launch comes amid rising options volumes. Optimal said it aims to address high costs, limited competition, and inconsistent execution quality.

The platform uses a “competition for order flow” (CFOF) model. Market makers Market Makers Market makers or called dealing desk brokers represent a type of broker that internalize flows and are taking the opposite side of a transaction submitted by their clients. The market making broker is only quoting a feed of prices to its clients. These feeds may or may not be the exact same as the prices quoted on the interbank market.Any order a client enters is processed internally and never goes out to the market, except in rare cases where a market making brokerage identifies a client as a v Market makers or called dealing desk brokers represent a type of broker that internalize flows and are taking the opposite side of a transaction submitted by their clients. The market making broker is only quoting a feed of prices to its clients. These feeds may or may not be the exact same as the prices quoted on the interbank market.Any order a client enters is processed internally and never goes out to the market, except in rare cases where a market making brokerage identifies a client as a v Read this Term compete for retail order flow based on execution quality, assessed name-by-name with monthly reallocation. Initial participants include Optiver, Akuna, Belvedere Trading, and Group One Trading, with additional market makers expected to join.

Optimal Adds Liquidity Providers, Supports Execution

Optimal Market Technologies is being established as a standalone entity, separate from RQD Clearing. RQD’s multi-asset Multi-Asset Composed of varying asset classes, multi-asset is a blanket designation combining different classes such bonds, equities, cash equivalents, fixed income, and alternative investments.When compared to traditional balanced funds, multi-asset solutions differ because they target specific investment outcomes. This includes outcomes such as return above inflation as opposed to gauging performance against standardized benchmarks.Given the composition of multi-asset classes, they need to be dynamically Composed of varying asset classes, multi-asset is a blanket designation combining different classes such bonds, equities, cash equivalents, fixed income, and alternative investments.When compared to traditional balanced funds, multi-asset solutions differ because they target specific investment outcomes. This includes outcomes such as return above inflation as opposed to gauging performance against standardized benchmarks.Given the composition of multi-asset classes, they need to be dynamically Read this Term clearing, custody, and execution platform underpins the new venue’s infrastructure.

Brian Donnelly, founder and chief executive of Optimal Market Technologies, said: “Over the coming months, we plan to add additional liquidity providers so that clients can benefit from an even broader set of counterparties, all competing based on measurable execution quality.”

The platform integrates via standard API or FIX connectivity. With RQD acting as the clearing counterparty, it supports clearing, post-trade processing, and regulatory reporting.