Kraken is pushing deeper into crypto derivatives. On July 16, the exchange launched USD-settled Bitcoin and Ether options on Kraken Pro, aimed at eligible professional and institutional clients. The product offers European-style, cash-settled contracts for XBT/USD and ETH/USD — a move that gives big traders a regulated way to hedge or speculate without touching the underlying coins.
What's being offered
The options cover weekly, monthly, quarterly, and semi-annual expiry cycles. Minimum order sizes are 0.01 BTC and 0.1 ETH; maximum positions are capped at 10 BTC and 100 ETH per account. Tick sizes are $1 for BTC options and $0.1 for ETH options. Settlement uses a 30-minute observation window before 08:00 UTC on expiry day — no last-minute price spikes from a single trade.
Who can trade — and how
Access starts with a request-for-quote (RFQ) workflow. That means clients request a price and the exchange provides quotes, not a continuous order book. It's standard for institutional desks but a shift from Kraken's usual spot and futures interface. Portfolio margin is enabled by default, and the unified wallet supports spot, futures, and options with collateral accepted in more than 30 currencies. Fees are notional-based and capped at 12.5% of the premium paid.
Kraken is competing for the same institutional flow that Deribit, CME, and others have courted. USD settlement removes the need to hold or convert crypto for margin — a pain point for funds that operate in fiat. The cap on maximum positions also signals a conservative risk appetite, at least at launch. The timing puts Kraken in the game ahead of any potential regulatory shake-ups later in the year.
The RFQ-only model may limit volume at first, but the infrastructure — portfolio margin, multi-currency collateral, unified wallet — is built to scale. Whether Kraken opens continuous trading in options remains an open question.
