This is an excerpt from CoinDesk newsletter 'Daybook.' Sign up here , if you haven't already.
While traders spent this week watching bitcoin BTC $82,501.32 gyrate above $80,000 amid key U.S. inflation data, a decision from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission got far less attention.
The (SEC) approved the listing of binary options tied to key performance indicators (KPIs) of 23 U.S. publicly traded companies. The metrics include trading volume at crypto exchange Coinbase Global (COIN), customer count and revenue at Robinhood Markets (HOOD), and bitcoin production at mining firm MARA Holdings (MARA).
“For crypto, this creates a new way to trade crypto-linked company performance beyond betting directly on BTC’s price,” Eleanor Terrett, the host of Crypto America, said on X. “The SEC approved this specific securities-options structure, while leaving room for differently structured contracts to fall under CFTC jurisdiction.”
A binary option is the simplest options contract, allowing traders to bet on a simple yes-or-no question, such as whether Coinbase's trading volume will exceed a set number by a specific date.
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins approved a rule change filed by Cboe Global Markets, according to a statement dated Oct. 13. The contracts are cash-settled and European-style, meaning they can only be exercised at expiration. They will settle on figures in companies' SEC filings, not numbers in earnings presentations.
Cboe plans to list the contracts this month, and Robinhood is expected to be the first brokerage to offer them to retail investors. Trading can't begin until Cboe Clear U.S., the clearing house, gets provisional registration, and a separate application is pending.
Atkins said the approval does not touch similar contracts overseen by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), such as those on prediction market platform Kalshi. He said agency turf fights have hindered innovation for decades, and the approval "reflects a new spirit of harmony, innovation, and investor choice."
As for the market, analysts remain confident of bullish prospects after bitcoin’s BTC $82,501.32 successful defense of its 50-day simple moving average support this week. Stay alert!
Read more: For analysis of today's activity in altcoins and derivatives, see Crypto Markets Today . For a comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk's " Crypto Week Ahead ."
The chart shows bitcoin’s daily price swings in candlestick format since late July. Overlaid on the chart is the 50-day simple moving average of the price.
While the rally has stalled since Sept. 21, pullbacks have been moderate, with the 50-day moving average providing support. Prices briefly fell below that level on Thursday before recovering.
The behavior has some analysts positioning for further upside in the cryptocurrency.
Diversified RWA stablecoins sustain 5-7% yield from real credit as crypto funding compresses to ~4%. GENIUS pushes yield off-chain; TAM grows to $4B in 3 years.
