Kraken has launched US dollar-denominated options on BTC and ETH with wallet margin enabled by default, entering a segment of the cryptocurrency derivatives market where Coinbase and CME Group are also expanding their positions.
Kraken launch details
Eligible clients can now trade European-style options on XBT/USD and ETH/USD on Kraken Pro, with weekly, monthly, quarterly and semi-annual expirations available at launch via Request for Quote (RFQ).
The Public Order Book is scheduled to be issued at a later stage, and a European arrival will follow at an unspecified date. Kraken has not disclosed the eligibility criteria that determine which customers can access the product.
All contracts are linear and settled in US dollars, with premium, gains and losses denominated in US dollars rather than the underlying assets. Portfolio margin applies to each eligible client by default, and arbitrage positions reduce overall margin requirements.
Spot contracts, futures and options are all in one wallet, relying on a multi-collateral pool that accepts over 30 currencies.
“The current options market in cryptocurrencies is built for a narrow segment of the trader base,” said Alexia Theodorou, Director of Derivatives at Kraken. “Our offering expands access with a direct contract that is settled in dollars in the same account that clients already use for spot and futures contracts.”
Where Kraken sits against Coinbase and CME
Kraken is entering a market where both Coinbase and CME already offer institutional options through different market structures.
Coinbase It closed its $2.9 billion acquisition of Deribit in August 2025, taking a direct stake in a venue that has long handled a significant share of institutional cryptocurrency options volume.
cm group Offers BTC and ETH options that are regulated and centrally cleared by the CFTC. In May 2026 the company Trading extended to the weekendbridging one of the remaining gaps between regulated derivatives markets and the continuous trading hours of crypto-native venues.
Kraken’s structure is different from both: a single wallet including points, futures and options, rather than a standalone options venue or separate vesting platform.
The company is positioning the launch as an early stage rather than the final product. The initial RFQ-only structure is intended to be followed by a general order book to “deepen price discovery as activity metrics,” along with broader geographic reach and additional assets over time.
Bottom line
Kraken options are only available through an RFQ and to an undisclosed group of qualified customers only, entering a segment where Coinbase and CME already operate well-established, high-volume products.
Whether Kraken’s unified account structure pulls institutional flow away from those places, or simply adds a third option alongside it, will depend on how quickly it moves from request for quote to public order book.
This article was written by Tanya Chipkova at www.financemagnates.com.
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