RQD* Clearing spinout brings novel Competition for Order Flow (CFOF) model addressing key trade execution challenges in the rapidly growing U.S. listed options market
NEW YORK, Feb. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Optimal Market Technologies, LLC (“Optimal”), a new FINRA-approved broker dealer, today announced its launch of a U.S. listed options execution platform with commercial availability expected later this quarter. The company is backed by four firms with deep options experience — Optiver, Virtu Financial, Akuna and BSC Ventures — as investors.
Over the past decade, options trading volume has surged, but the execution ecosystem has struggled to keep pace. Costs remain high, competition is often constrained by single market-maker models and consistent execution quality can be difficult to achieve. Optimal was built to address these shortcomings by enabling multiple “Primary Market Makers” (PMMs) to compete directly for order flow on the Optimal platform, delivering deeper liquidity, better pricing and improved execution outcomes for retail customers. At launch these PMMs will include Akuna, Belvedere Trading, Group One Trading, Optiver and Virtu, with additional market makers expected to join over the coming months.
Optimal’s offering will include an options ATS and a customizable suite of options routing tools and trading algorithms. The company will serve retail options wholesalers, institutional broker-dealers and large asset managers, with the phased rollout initially focused on the wholesaler community.
Central to Optimal’s approach is a novel model it calls Competition for Order Flow (CFOF). Under this model, Optimal’s PMMs will compete for the right to trade against a retail broker’s order flow based on their execution quality (EQ) performance. Optimal will measure EQ on a name-by-name basis using rolling performance metrics and will reallocate flow monthly based on relative execution outcomes. This performance-based allocation model is designed to promote ongoing competition, transparency and accountability among liquidity providers, while also increasing coverage and easing operations for retail brokers.
“We are proud to be partnering with five of the industry’s most sophisticated market makers as investors in and liquidity providers to the Optimal platform,” said Brian Donnelly, founder and CEO of Optimal Market Technologies, LLC. “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.”
“We’re excited to lead the investment round in Optimal Market Technologies, LLC and to form a strategic partnership that we believe will bring much-needed competition and innovation to the U.S. retail options market,” said Jake Taylor, head of U.S. single stock options at Optiver. “As retail participation and options volumes grow, it’s increasingly important that market structure evolves to promote choice, transparency and high-quality execution. As a global market maker, Optiver brings deep liquidity and pricing expertise across the options complex, and we look forward to supporting Optimal as it builds a differentiated execution offering.”
For Optimal’s PMMs, CFOF enables firms to concentrate on the products and strategies where they perform best, rather than being required to support the full long tail of listed options — a structure that can be capital-intensive and operationally complex. This targeted approach is designed to improve market quality while reducing unnecessary friction for both liquidity providers and brokers.
“Options markets continue to grow in both scale and complexity,” said Ryan Duckworth, U.S. CEO at Akuna. “Optimal’s performance-based CFOF model allows brokers to easily interact with the liquidity providers delivering the strongest outcomes for their end clients while enabling the PMMs to focus on the products where they have a competitive edge. It’s an elegant solution to the challenges faced by both sides of the market.”
“Virtu has a strong track record of supporting competitive market structure innovations across global asset classes,” said Brett Fairclough, Co-COO and Co-President of Virtu. “Our dual role as a market maker and strategic investor in Optimal underscores our commitment to driving competition and transparency. As a global liquidity provider across hundreds of venues, we are excited to bring our robust options liquidity to Optimal, helping to enhance execution quality for investors.”
Optimal is being spun out of RQD* Clearing, LLC, (“RQD”) whose next-generation, multi-asset clearing, custody and execution platform has helped it scale quickly since its official launch in 2021. In addition to Donnelly, a longtime options trading executive who previously founded both RQD and options market maker Volant Trading, the Optimal management team includes several other well-known veterans of the U.S. options trading community.
Optimal’s platform is built on over a decade of proven, high-performance execution infrastructure, delivering low latency, reliability and scalability. The platform integrates seamlessly via standard API or FIX connectivity and, with RQD as the clearing counterparty, supports clearing, post-trade processing and regulatory reporting, providing clients with a complete, operationally efficient solution.
“We were early investors in RQD and have greatly enjoyed working with Brian and the team to help scale the business,” said Ryan Sullivan, Managing Member at BSC Ventures LLC. “We’re equally bullish on Optimal as a standalone company given its leadership, model, and investor base, and we look forward to deepening our partnership as we work together to support the continued evolution of the U.S. options market.”
About Optimal Market Technologies, LLC
Optimal Market Technologies, LLC is transforming options execution with an innovative platform that empowers four leading market makers – Optiver, Virtu, Akuna and Belvedere – to compete for order flow. This unique structure delivers deeper liquidity, tighter pricing and meaningful execution improvements for retail brokers. Additional offerings include a proposed Alternative Trading System (ATS) for discreet execution and price improvement and Execution Services for institutional-grade routing and algorithmic execution designed to balance price capture, speed, and market impact across trading objectives. Built on two decades of proven infrastructure, the platform offers reliability, ultra-low latency and scalability. Accessible via API or FIX, Optimal supports clearing, post-trade processing and regulatory reporting, enabling clients to integrate quickly and trade with confidence. For more information, visit www.optimalmarkettech.com.
Media Contact:
Mark Dowd
mdowd@forefrontcomms.com
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SOURCE Optimal Market Technologies
