Kraken Rolls Out USD-Settled Bitcoin and Ether Options for Pros

Kraken, a leading cryptocurrency exchange, has launched USD-settled Bitcoin and Ether options for professional and institutional clients on its Kraken Pro platform. The new feature is aimed at providing a cleaner accounting solution for funds that report in dollars and want to avoid the operational complexities of coin-settled options.

The European-style, cash-settled options are available for BTC/USD and ETH/USD pairs and have four expiry cycles: weekly, monthly, quarterly, and semi-annual. The minimum order sizes are 0.01 contracts for BTC and 0.1 for ETH, while the maximum positions per account are capped at 10 BTC and 100 ETH.

Kraken's options fees are aligned with its existing notional-based schedule for derivatives, but with a ceiling: fees are capped at 12.5 percent of the option premium paid. The exchange also offers portfolio margin by default for options, which can help reduce margin footprint, although correlation risks remain.