What Is the Primary Difference between an RFQ Platform and a Central Limit Order Book (CLOB) for Options Trading?
An RFQ platform facilitates bilateral or multilateral negotiations where a trader requests quotes from specific liquidity providers for a defined contract. The quotes are private until execution.
A CLOB, however, is an open, transparent system where all bids and offers are displayed publicly to all participants, and trades are matched based on price-time priority. RFQ is common for large, complex, or illiquid derivatives, while CLOB is standard for highly liquid, standardized products.
Glossar
Rfq Platform
Definition ⎊ Rfq Platform is the dedicated trading technology used by institutional participants to solicit firm, private pricing quotes from multiple liquidity providers simultaneously for large or complex derivative trades.
Central Limit Order Book (CLOB)
Governance ⎊ The Central Limit Order Book (CLOB) functions as the core governance structure for price discovery on centralized exchanges, enforcing strict rules like price-time priority for trade matching.