Gotrade Expands Into Options Trading to Reach Southeast Asia’s 22 Million Retail Investors

​Gotrade, a Malaysia-based investing app, has introduced options trading to its mobile platform, extending its collaboration with U.S. brokerage infrastructure provider Alpaca. The move aims to attract more retail investors across Southeast Asia, where access to derivatives has traditionally been limited.

The rollout allows users to trade long calls and long puts directly through Gotrade's app, with covered calls and cash-secured puts expected in future updates. The feature is powered by Alpaca's broker API, which handles order execution and trade processing.

Gotrade's Chief Executive Officer Norman Wanto described the addition as "a natural evolution for our users," saying the company intends to "make a tool previously reserved for institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals available to everyone."

The partnership builds on a relationship that began in 2021, when Gotrade launched fractional U.S. stock trading using Alpaca's technology. Alpaca, based in New York, reports serving more than seven million brokerage accounts through hundreds of fintech firms in over 40 countries.

Alpaca Co-Founder and CEO Yoshi Yokokawa said Gotrade's "product-first approach has been a key factor in building trust and driving growth in Southeast Asia," adding that the partnership would support the rapid rollout of new investment tools.

The update follows Alpaca's recent expansion into 24/7 stock access through a tokenization platform, part of its effort to provide a complete brokerage infrastructure that includes equities, exchange-traded funds, options, and fixed income.

Gotrade launched in 2019 with a goal of democratizing access to U.S. securities for investors in emerging markets. The platform offers fractional shares starting at $1 and removes commission fees, charging instead a small foreign exchange spread of 0.5% to 1.2% when users deposit local currency.

Retail investing in the region has been gaining momentum, with Malaysia and Indonesia now accounting for roughly 22 million individual investors combined. Gotrade currently operates in over 140 countries, under Malaysia's Labuan Financial Service Authority license, and in Indonesia through PT Valbury Asia Futures, a local broker-dealer.

The company raised $15.5 million in a Series A round in 2022 led by Velocity Capital Fintech Ventures, with participation from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, BeeNext, and Picus Capital. Gotrade reported handling $400 million in transactions across five million trades as of early 2022, though recent figures have not been disclosed.