Kraken Launches USD-Settled Crypto Options for Institutional Traders

Kraken has introduced cash-settled, USD-denominated options on bitcoin and ether with portfolio margin enabled by default, entering the institutional crypto derivatives segment where Coinbase and CME Group are also expanding.

Eligible clients can now trade European-style options in XBT/USD and ETH/USD on Kraken Pro, with weekly, monthly, quarterly and semi-annual expiries available through request-for-quote (RFQ). A public order book is planned for a later phase, and European access will follow at an unspecified date. Kraken has not disclosed the specific eligibility criteria.

All contracts are linear and settled in US dollars, with premium, profit and loss denominated in USD rather than in the underlying asset. Portfolio margin applies to every eligible client by default, and offsetting positions reduce overall margin requirements. Spot, futures and options sit in a single wallet, drawing on a multi-collateral pool that accepts more than 30 currencies.

"The existing options market in crypto has been built for a narrow slice of the trader base," said Alexia Theodorou, Director of Derivatives at Kraken. "Our offering broadens access through a straightforward, dollar-settled contract in the same account clients already use for spot and futures."

Kraken enters a market where both Coinbase and CME already offer institutional options exposure through different structures. Coinbase closed its $2.9 billion acquisition of Deribit in August 2025, taking a direct stake in a venue that handles a large share of institutional crypto options volume. CME Group offers CFTC-regulated, centrally cleared BTC and ETH options, and in May 2026 extended trading to weekends, narrowing the gap between regulated derivatives markets and the continuous trading hours of crypto-native venues.

Kraken’s structure differs from both: a single wallet spanning spot, futures and options, rather than a standalone options venue or a separate acquired platform. The company frames the launch as an early phase. The initial RFQ-only structure is intended to be followed by a public order book "to deepen price discovery as activity scales," alongside broader geographic access and additional assets over time.

Kraken’s options are live only through RFQ and only for an undisclosed set of eligible clients, entering a segment where Coinbase and CME already run established, higher-volume products. Whether Kraken’s unified-account structure draws institutional flow away from those venues, or simply adds a third option alongside them, will depend on how quickly it moves from RFQ to a public order book.