Binance, the top cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, allows anyone to earn passive income through Ether options, paving the way for a strategy that was previously limited only to professionals.
The exchange announced in a press release shared with CoinDesk that it will allow users to write (sell) Ether options, helping them effectively manage risk and generate additional income. This decision is in response to growing demand from both retail and institutional investors for advanced derivatives trading tools.
This announcement builds on Binance’s move to democratize Bitcoin BTC$88,837.20 This reflects the explosive demand for BTC, ETH, and ETF-based products.
Organizational demand for these products is undeniable. Earlier this year, BlackRock’s IBIT options significantly exceeded the volume of Deribit’s native BTC options, marking a pivotal moment for the crypto derivatives industry.
“Binance remains committed to providing innovative tools that meet the evolving needs of our users,” said Jeff Lee, Vice President of Products at Binance. “With the introduction of ETH option writing and upgrades to our options platform, traders will have faster execution, greater flexibility, and richer market data to support more sophisticated and strategic trading approaches in the growing crypto derivatives space.”
An option is a derivative contract that gives the holder the right to buy or sell an underlying asset at a predetermined price within a specified period of time. These contracts pay out at a later date depending on whether the asset price goes above or below a specified level.
While call buyers profit from rising prices, sellers (writers) take the opposite view, essentially providing insurance against a bullish move in exchange for an upfront premium. This premium is an immediate income.
Savvy traders have increasingly used this strategy over the past few years, writing calls or puts on Deribit and earning income, often on their coin holdings.
Binance users can now do the same with Ether Options by posting margin to secure their obligations, with access subject to mandatory suitability assessments to ensure responsible trading.
To facilitate instant liquidity, Binance is also rolling out a significant 20% discount on both taker and maker fees for VIP users on newly listed ETH, BTC, BNB, and SOL contracts. This is a move aimed at solidifying its dominance in the highly competitive crypto options space.
Platform upgrade
To capture a larger share of the derivatives market, Binance has overhauled its options platform with a series of infrastructure upgrades designed for high-frequency traders and institutional investors.
The revamped ecosystem boasts significantly higher API throughput and lower latency, enabling faster order execution during periods of market volatility. Beyond speed, the exchange is expanding the available strike prices across multiple assets, providing traders with the granularity needed for complex hedging and speculative strategies.
To enhance market transparency, the platform integrates advanced WebSocket streams to provide deep market data essential for advanced analytics.
