Cboe Revives S&P 500 Binary Options as Prediction Markets Gain Ground
Cboe is bringing back S&P 500 binary options, re-entering a market for yes-or-no contracts that has been popularized by Kalshi and crypto-native Polymarket. The move reflects broader mainstream interest in prediction-style products, while Cboe is adding a partial-payout structure alongside the traditional all-or-nothing format.
What happened?
Cboe is bringing back S&P 500 binary options, re-entering a market for yes-or-no contracts that has been popularized by Kalshi and crypto-native Polymarket. The move reflects broader mainstream interest in prediction-style products, while Cboe is adding a partial-payout structure alongside the traditional all-or-nothing format.
Why it matters
Cboe, one of the largest U.S. derivatives exchanges, is reviving binary options tied to the S&P 500 after shelving similar products more than a decade ago. The contracts let traders take a yes-or-no position on whether the benchmark U.S. equity index crosses a specified level, putting Cboe back into a category now associated with platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket.
Cboe, one of the largest U.S. derivatives exchanges, is reviving binary options tied to the S&P 500 after shelving similar products more than a decade ago. The contracts let traders take a yes-or-no position on whether the benchmark U.S. equity index crosses a specified level, putting Cboe back into a category now associated with platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket.
The launch matters because prediction-style markets have moved from a niche trading format into a broader competitive arena for exchanges, brokers and crypto-native platforms. CoinDesk reported that demand for fast, outcome-based trades has been visible in Cboe’s same-day S&P 500 options, which expire within hours and now account for about 30% of U.S. options volume.
Cboe has tried this before. It first listed binary options on the S&P 500 and the Cboe Volatility Index in 2008, but the products failed to gain enough traction and were later withdrawn, with the last such contract expiring in 2017. The difference now is that Kalshi and Polymarket have shown there is active demand for contracts built around direct outcomes.
Cboe is also adding a variation called “plus,” based on a vertical spread. Unlike a standard binary option that pays a fixed amount or nothing, the structure can provide partial payouts as the index moves, which Cboe presents as a way for traders to define risk more precisely.
The product also highlights a contrast with crypto-native prediction markets. Cboe’s contracts are regulated instruments distributed through U.S. brokerages, with Interactive Brokers carrying them and Charles Schwab expected to offer them later this year. Polymarket, by comparison, runs onchain, with bets placed and settled in USDC on a public blockchain.