Dual Investment Explained: Covered Calls and Cash-Secured Puts

Dual investment (also sold as Dual Asset or Dual Invest) is a packaged yield product offered by centralized exchanges. It has two named strategies — Sell High and Buy Low — that match two option trades exactly: Sell High works like a covered call, and Buy Low works like a cash-secured put. You deposit one asset, pick a target price and a settlement date, and at expiry you receive either your original asset or the counter-asset, plus a yield paid in whichever asset is delivered.

Those names are product labels. Underneath, you are selling an option: you are paid now, and in return you accept capped upside or the obligation to buy. The screen shows a target price, a date and an APR instead of a strike, a premium and assignment.

How dual investment works: two strategies, two option trades

Sell High strategy ≈ covered call

You deposit crypto and set a target above the current price. At settlement:

• Price at or above target: your crypto converts to stablecoins at the target. You sold upside for the yield.
• Price below target: you keep the crypto, plus yield paid in crypto.

That is the covered-call payoff: you are paid now, your upside is capped, and the full downside is still yours.

Buy Low strategy ≈ cash-secured put

You deposit stablecoins and set a target below the current price. At settlement:

• Price at or below target: you buy the crypto at the target from your stablecoins. You were assigned.
• Price above target: you keep the stablecoins, plus yield paid in stablecoins.

That is the cash-secured-put payoff: premium now, obligation to buy if the market falls to your strike.

Writing that put yourself is covered in How to earn yield on USDC by selling puts.

Exchanges usually show the yield as an APR. That number annualizes a short lockup: a seven-day product at 45% APR pays about 0.86% of the amount for the week (45% × 7 ÷ 365), not 45%. Read the APR as an option premium expressed per year, not as a savings rate.

What each platform calls it

The mechanics are the same across them: a target price, a settlement date and a quoted APR. Details differ. Bybit, for example, settles against the average market price in the 30 minutes before 8:00 UTC on the settlement date and does not allow redemption before then. Read the product page of the platform you use.

Sell High strategy: example in numbers

Suppose BTC trades at $100,000. You deposit 0.1 BTC into a seven-day Sell High strategy with a $105,000 target and an advertised 45% APR.

• If BTC settles at or above $105,000: your 0.1 BTC converts at $105,000 into $10,500 of stablecoins, plus about $91 of yield (0.86% for the week). You exited at the target and collected the premium.
• If BTC settles at $88,000: you receive 0.1 BTC back plus about 0.00086 BTC of yield, worth roughly $76 at that price. The yield cushions a fraction of the drop; it does not hedge it. Holding without the product would have lost the same price move without the cushion.

You were paid to sell the upside above $105,000. That is the whole trade.

What the simplicity costs

Dual investment is popular because the screen hides options jargon. You never see “strike,” “premium,” or “assignment.” You see a target price, a date, and an APR.

That simplicity has a cost:

• You do not choose the buyer. The exchange takes the other side of your trade and keeps the difference between the options premium it can earn and the yield it pays you.
• Terms are fixed menus. The target prices, dates and sizes come from the exchange's list. You cannot ask for your own.
• Funds are locked until settlement. Early exit is usually not available. Bybit's terms, for instance, state that subscribed assets cannot be cancelled or redeemed before the settlement date.
• APR distracts from the payoff. The important question is not the headline rate; it is which asset you are willing to hold after settlement, and at what price.

If you already understand covered calls and cash-secured puts, dual investment is those trades with a different front end. If you do not, start with Crypto options explained.

Who it fits — and who it does not

Fits if you are willing to sell crypto at a price above the current price (Sell High strategy) or buy crypto at a price below the current price (Buy Low strategy), and you prefer a simple sign-up flow over choosing strikes and counterparties yourself.

Does not fit if you need early exit, want competing quotes on premium, want self-custody through the life of the trade, or are treating the APR as risk-free yield. It is not.

Where onchain RFQ differs

On Overcast, the same two trades are shown for what they are: you lock collateral, trading desks compete on the premium, and the trade settles onchain. You see the strike, the premium, and the settlement method. You do not see an APR that annualizes a week of option income.

The comparison is worked through in Dual Investment vs Covered Calls.

FAQ

What are you actually depositing into?

A packaged yield product where you deposit crypto or stablecoins, set a target price and settlement date, and receive either the original asset or the counter-asset at expiry — plus a yield. It offers two strategies: Sell High (economically a covered call) and Buy Low (economically a cash-secured put).

Same payoff as writing the option yourself?

The Sell High strategy is economically a covered call. The Buy Low strategy is economically a cash-secured put. The screen, who holds your funds, and how much of the premium reaches you differ from writing the option yourself.

What happens at settlement on an exchange?

You subscribe to a Sell High or Buy Low strategy with a target and a settlement date. At settlement the platform converts or returns your deposit based on whether the target was reached, and pays a yield in the delivered asset. Platforms label the product dual investment, dual asset, or similar; Sell High / Buy Low are the strategy names on that menu.

What can go wrong?

Capped upside (Sell High strategy), assignment into a falling asset (Buy Low strategy), full downside on the crypto you still hold, lockup until settlement, platform custody, and APR figures that overstate what a short lockup actually pays.

Sources

• Dual Investment, Binance
• What Is OKX Dual Investment?, OKX Learn
• Introduction to Dual Asset, Bybit Help Center
• Dual Invest, Crypto.com University

Next reading

• Dual Investment vs Covered Calls
• Crypto covered calls
• Crypto cash-secured puts
• How to earn yield on USDC by selling puts
• How Overcast works