Overview
- Kraken launched European-style, US dollar–settled options for Bitcoin (XBT/USD) and Ether (ETH/USD) that offer expirations from weekly to semi-annual and settle in cash rather than crypto.
- The product went live July 16–17 and is initially accessible through a request-for-quote workflow on Kraken Pro to serve professional and institutional desks.
- At launch the options are blocked for clients in Europe, North America, and Australia while Kraken phases access to additional regions later in 2026.
- Kraken enabled default portfolio margin and integrated the options into its unified wallet supporting collateral across more than 30 currencies so traders can net spot, futures, and options positions for greater capital efficiency.
- The rollout follows Kraken’s Bitnomial acquisition and a June US perpetual futures launch and signals a push to compete with venues such as CME and Deribit as Kraken plans public order books, more assets, and wider access later in 2026.