A derivate is a contract whose value is determined by the performance of an underlying asset. Probably the easiest to understand is a future, where the parties are agreeing to buy or sell an asset, at a price agreed upon today, with payment and delivery at a later date. Derivatives map really well onto blockchain smart contracts. But not a lot of the folks who would be interested in writing them can code for those platforms.
Users can enter, in the fields of an easy-to-use GUI, the terms of a number of different types of derivatives contracts (futures, options, etc.). The user can also select a blockchain platform: Ethereum, Bitcoin, etc. These entries are then translated into smart contract code that can be published to that blockchain. Ideally, we’ll be able to publish straight to those platforms using APIs. But if we have to make users copy and paste the contracts into GUIs for those platforms (like Ethereum’s Alethzero), that’s not so bad.