A错，因为场外衍生品的中央清算(类似于交易所交易的衍生品清算)旨在降低传染风险。

问题如下：

Derivatives may contribute to financial contagion because of the:

选项：

A.

centrally cleared nature of OTC derivatives.

B.

associated significant costs and high capital requirements.

C.

reliance by derivatives speculators on large amounts of leverage.

解释：

C is correct. Opponents argue that speculators use large amounts of leverage, thereby subjecting themselves and their creditors to substantial risk if markets do not move in their hoped- for direction. Defaults by speculators can then lead to defaults by their creditors, their creditors’ creditors, and so on. These effects can, therefore, be systemic and reflect an epidemic contagion whereby instability can spread throughout markets and an economy, if not the entire world.

A is incorrect because central clearing of OTC derivatives, similar to how exchange- traded derivatives are cleared, is intended to lessen the risk of contagion.

B is incorrect because it is derivatives’ low cost and low capital requirements, not high cost and high capital requirements, that opponents point to as contributing to an excessive amount of speculative trading that brings instability to the markets.

中文解析：

C是正确的。投机者使用大量杠杆，因此，如果市场不按他们希望的方向发展，他们自己和债权人就会面临巨大风险。投机者的违约会导致他们的债权人、债权人的债权人等等的违约。因此，这些影响可能是系统性的，并反映出一种流行病的传染，即不稳定可能蔓延到整个市场和经济，甚至是整个世界。

A是不正确的，因为场外衍生品的中央清算(类似于交易所交易的衍生品清算)旨在降低传染风险。

B是不正确的，衍生品的低成本和低资本要求，而不是高成本和高资本要求，导致了过量的投机交易，给市场带来不稳定。