# What is DIVA Protocol

DIVA Protocol is the first truly universal smart contract-based system for creating and managing derivative financial contracts peer-to-peer. It provides a platform for developers to build a wide range of derivative financial applications, including structured products, insurance, prediction markets, conditional donations, swaps, bets, and more, all in a fully permissionless way without involving a central intermediary.

### What are the unique features of DIVA Protocol?

DIVA Protocol distinguishes itself from peers like Augur, Polymarket, and Opyn in several key ways:

* **⚙️High customization:** DIVA Protocol offers unmatched customization, allowing users to select virtually any metric as the underlying and choose from a wide range of payoff profiles. With its flexibility to accommodate various slopes, barriers, and ranges, DIVA Protocol is especially well-suited for application in structured products.
* **☂️Compliance layer:** DIVA Protocol is one of the first DeFi protocols that implements a compliance feature to enable traditional financial institutions to use DIVA Protocol while complying with existing KYC and AML regulations.
* **⛽Gas optimized:** DIVA Protocol implements an efficient off-chain matching mechanism with an on-chain settlement process leveraging the EIP712 signature standard, thereby optimizing gas usage by creating the derivative contract on-chain only when a counterparty is found.
* **🧩Composable:** DIVA Protocol harnesses the true power of decentralized finance by prioritizing composability. Developers can seamlessly combine DIVA Protocol with any oracle and trading infrastructure when building end-user applications.

An overview of products that can be powered by DIVA Protocol is provided below:

![Example products that can be powered by DIVA Protocol](https://1305042189-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FHZJ0AbZj1fc1i5a58eEE%2Fuploads%2F9JbL84XAJAul74Hx14q6%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=84624640-2fd4-4b16-bddb-2ea6cefc6bb9)