Derivatives function by binding future prices to the present and blending forms of capital.

Evidence

Having successfully disassembled assets in order to price and trade their attributes, derivatives have two key functions, according to Bryan and Rafferty: binding and blending. Particularly through options and futures, derivatives “bind” the future to the present through pricing relationships; with swaps, they “blend” different forms of capital, through corresponding asset forms, into a single unit of measure. “It is … the capacity for derivatives to [be] commensurate [to] capital in different forms, locations and time horizons that adds greater competitive discipline to the processes of calculation and decision making.” — Andrew deWaard, Derivative Media, 170

Categorization

• DEFINE: Gives the two-part definition (binding and blending) that grounds the whole derivative-media analogy.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Andrew deWaard, Derivative Media: How Wall Street…, 170
• XREF: connects to: Stock valuation discounts future dividends because present money earns interest. — Donald MacKenzie, An Engine, Not a Camera: How Financial…, 205; Arbitrage enforces a real link that anchors derivatives to underlying assets — Donald MacKenzie, An Engine, Not a Camera: How Financial…, 781; Bank lending transfers future value to the present to earn interest — Yanis Varoufakis, Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism, 1028