Use Case

Quantum Derivatives Pricing

Finance · Finance

Quantum amplitude estimation enables quadratic speedups in pricing financial derivatives such as options and exotic instruments. Multiple research groups have demonstrated quantum algorithms for European, Bermudan, and multi-asset option pricing that outperform classical Monte Carlo in asymptotic scaling.

derivativesoption-pricingamplitude-estimationMonte-Carlofinance

Quantum amplitude estimation enables quadratic speedups in pricing financial derivatives such as options and exotic instruments. Multiple research groups have demonstrated quantum algorithms for European, Bermudan, and multi-asset option pricing that outperform classical Monte Carlo in asymptotic scaling.

Problem

Pricing complex financial derivatives like exotic options, Bermudan options, and multi-asset baskets requires Monte Carlo integration over high-dimensional probability distributions. Classical methods converge slowly and become prohibitively expensive for portfolios requiring real-time repricing across thousands of instruments.

Approach

Quantum amplitude estimation (QAE) replaces classical Monte Carlo sampling by encoding payoff functions and underlying asset dynamics into quantum circuits. The quantum algorithm achieves a quadratic reduction in the number of samples needed to reach a given pricing accuracy, with recent work using quantum signal processing to further reduce circuit depth and qubit requirements.

Results

Stamatopoulos et al. demonstrated quantum Monte Carlo pricing of financial derivatives with provable quadratic speedup. Subsequent work showed Bermudan option pricing via QAE with Chebyshev interpolation, and a 2025 paper demonstrated dimension-independent quantum speedups for derivative pricing beyond Black-Scholes models.