Building a cash digital from vanilla options
Question
Using only vanilla options, how would you replicate a digital call that pays if the spot ends above ?
Short answer
Use a narrow call spread scaled by its width. Buy calls struck at (or ) and sell calls at (or ). The payoff is below the lower strike, above the upper one and linear in between; as it tends to the digital, so its price is . Traders keep finite and choose the side that over-hedges.
Adapted from Joshi, Denson & Downes, Quant Job Interview Questions and Answers, Q2.40, p.20; question and answer rewritten by SelfMadeQuant.com.
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