Highlights
- Binance launched physically-settled options on more than 1,000 US stocks and ETFs for users outside the US.
- The product runs through Binance's Abu Dhabi entity Nest Trading Limited, in partnership with US broker-dealer Alpaca Securities.
- Buyers can purchase calls and puts but cannot write or short options, capping losses at the premium paid.
- Binance's TradFi perpetual futures volume hit $433.4 billion in August, roughly 15 times January's $29.5 billion.
- Bybit plans a competing 24/7 stock-options product on September 17, starting with SpaceX and Nvidia.
Binance launched physically-settled options on more than 1,000 US-listed stocks and ETFs on September 1, extending its push into tokenized traditional-finance products to users outside the United States, according to a Bloomberg report flagged by Wu Blockchain. The Bloomberg report says the contracts run through Binance's Abu Dhabi-regulated entity, Nest Trading Limited, in partnership with Alpaca Securities LLC, a US-registered broker-dealer that handles execution and custody. Buyers can purchase calls and puts, but writing or shorting options isn't available on the platform, which caps a buyer's maximum loss at the premium paid and removes assignment risk entirely.
TradFi Volume Has Exploded on Binance
The launch builds directly on Binance's June 2026 rollout of spot trading for more than 7,000 US-listed stocks and ETFs to non-US customers, and the volume data shows how quickly that earlier product has been adopted. Binance's total TradFi perpetual futures volume reached $433.4 billion in August 2026, roughly 15 times the $29.5 billion recorded in January, according to The Block's reporting. Within that total, equity-linked perpetuals alone generated $342.9 billion in August, 79% of all TradFi perpetual volume, up from just $410.9 million in January, an increase that shows equity exposure moving from a marginal offering to the dominant product in Binance's TradFi lineup within eight months. Binance Head of Exchange Shunyet Jan framed the launch as a natural next step:
Stock options are an important next step in Binance's evolution into a fuller multi-asset platform.
A Race to Bridge Crypto and Equities
The move intensifies a race among crypto-native exchanges to capture TradFi trading activity historically walled off by geography and licensing. Binance's physical-settlement structure, in which exercised options actually deliver the underlying stock or ETF exposure through Alpaca's brokerage rails, differs from the cash-settled products more common in crypto derivatives and mirrors how options work on traditional exchanges. That could appeal to traders who want genuine equity exposure without opening a US brokerage account, though it also ties Binance's product more closely to US market hours and settlement conventions than a purely crypto-native perpetual would be. The launch also shifts competitive pressure onto rivals: any exchange without an equivalent bridge into US equities risks losing exactly the trading volume Binance's own numbers show has been growing fastest.
Related: JPMorgan: Strong Jobs Report Could Sink Stocks This Week
Bybit Is Already Lining Up a Rival Product
The competitive response is already public. The Block reports that Bybit will launch its own 24/7 options on stock perpetuals on September 17, starting with SpaceX and Nvidia and settling in USDT rather than through physical delivery. That head-to-head, a physically-settled model against a cash-settled one launching just over two weeks apart, gives traders an early test case for which settlement approach wins out once both are live side by side.
FAQ
What did Binance launch on September 1?
Physically-settled options on more than 1,000 US-listed stocks and ETFs, available to users outside the United States.
Who handles execution for Binance's new stock options?
Alpaca Securities LLC, a US-registered broker-dealer, executes and custodies the underlying positions, while Binance's Abu Dhabi entity Nest Trading Limited operates the product.
Can Binance users write or short these options?
No. Only buying calls and puts is supported, which caps the maximum loss at the premium paid and removes assignment risk.
How is Bybit responding?
Bybit has confirmed a competing 24/7 stock-options product launching September 17, starting with SpaceX and Nvidia and settled in USDT instead of physical delivery.
