Binance to Offer Options on 1,000 US Stocks, ETFs in Traditional Finance Push

Binance is adding options on about 1,000 US stocks and exchange-traded funds as it expands further into traditional financial products.

The Block reported on September 1 that Binance will offer options on US stocks and ETFs through Nest Trading Limited, a broker-dealer regulated by Abu Dhabi Global Market. Nest will receive orders and route them to Alpaca Securities, a US-registered brokerage firm that will handle execution, clearing, settlement and custody. The service will not be available to users in the US.

The options will be physically settled. When an option is exercised, users will receive or deliver the underlying US-listed stock or ETF, while Alpaca will custody the underlying assets on behalf of Binance users.

Retail investors who qualify to trade options will be able to buy call and put options. Their maximum loss will be limited to the premium paid for the option. Binance plans to add more supported stock options over time.

The launch comes as Binance broadens its presence in traditional finance. In June, it began offering trading in about 7,000 US-listed stocks and ETFs to users outside the US. It also provides tokenized securities branded as bStocks and stock-linked perpetual futures.

Trading in derivatives tied to traditional financial assets has also climbed rapidly. Binance's trading volume in traditional finance-linked perpetual futures rose about 15-fold, from $29.5 billion in January to about $433.4 billion in August. Stock-linked perpetual futures made up about $342.9 billion, or 79%, of the total. In January, that volume was just $410.9 million.

Crypto exchanges are also continuing to expand stock-linked derivatives. Starting September 17, Bybit plans to introduce round-the-clock options trading linked to stock perpetual futures, beginning with SpaceX and Nvidia. Unlike Binance's products, which are physically settled and tied to US-listed securities, Bybit's products are based on stock perpetual futures and settled in Tether's USDT.

Shuneet Jan, Binance's head of trading, called stock options an important next step in the company's effort to become a more complete multi-asset platform. Adding selected US stock and ETF options will allow users to access equity markets, manage exposure and use strategies traditionally offered by conventional brokers through a single Binance account, he added.