> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.variational.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.variational.io/omni/about-omni.md).

# About Omni

Omni is the first application built on the Variational Protocol. It provides a single cross-margined account for trading perpetuals across crypto and real-world assets, including gold, silver, copper, and oil.

Omni features zero trading fees and up to 50x leverage across 450+ live markets.

## Why Omni?

Order book exchanges struggle to bootstrap liquidity for new markets and constantly bleed capital to external market makers. Omni replaces order books with a vertically integrated RFQ architecture, cutting out external market makers and bypassing the bootstrapping bottleneck by aggregating existing liquidity.

### Zero Fees

Omni does not charge any maker or taker fees. By vertically integrating the platform's liquidity provider, Omni generates revenue by retaining the market-making yield that is usually extracted by external market makers. 

### Aggregated Liquidity

Order books fragment when applied to long-tail or off-chain markets because they attempt to rebuild liquidity from scratch. Omni solves this by tapping into the depth where it already exists, aggregating crypto liquidity from major exchanges and traditional market liquidity directly from TradFi dealers.

### Universal Market Coverage

Omni currently supports over 450 crypto and traditional markets, with 100+ additional TradFi markets lined up for listing this summer. Omni's vertically integrated market maker aggregates liquidity from existing venues (CEXs, DEXs, TradFi) to offer immediate depth on each new listing. 

## How Does Omni Work?

Omni operates by vertically integrating the entire trading stack, from pricing to settlement to liquidity:

* **Pricing**: Uses the [Variational Oracle](/variational-protocol/key-concepts/variational-oracle.md) to aggregate multi-venue market data, enabling broad coverage of crypto and traditional markets.
* **Settlement**: Uses the core [Variational Protocol](/variational-protocol/overview.md) as the underlying infrastructure to transparently clear and settle all trades on-chain.
* **Liquidity**: Uses the [Omni Liquidity Provider (OLP)](/omni/the-omni-liquidity-provider-olp.md) as the sole market maker. OLP aggregates external liquidity, provides direct quotes, and acts as the counterparty to user trades.

Controlling the pricing infrastructure removes a key bottleneck to listing new markets, allowing Omni to scale its offerings instantly. Building custom settlement on the Variational Protocol ensures verifiable, 24/7 on-chain execution. Vertically integrating liquidity cuts out rent-seeking external market makers, and allowing the platform to plug directly into global liquidity. When combined, this full-stack integration is what allows Omni to deliver the asset breadth of a global brokerage, the cross-margining of a prime broker, and the 24/7 settlement of crypto.