Financial Engineering

What is financial engineering, and why should developers, traders, and DeFi builders understand it? In this session, Andrey Belyakov — mathematician, quant, and co-founder of Opium Protocol — breaks down the logic behind derivatives, options, and custom risk profiles. Together with Ivan, they explore how to structure any payoff using simple financial blocks — and how this thinking translates into web3 finance.

• 🔹 Time value of money — the foundation of finance.
• 🔹 Understanding risk vs. return with real-world analogies.
• 🔹 How to discount cash flows and value businesses or tokens.
• 🔹 The structure of option strategies and payoff charts.
• 🔹 Why financial engineering is key to customizing economic outcomes.
• 🔹 Building next-gen DeFi infrastructure through smart financial design.