Derivatives account for the vast majority of crypto trading volumes, but options remain a relatively small part of the market, dominated by a handful of established sites, including Deribit, CME Group and Binance. New entrants are increasingly betting that broader adoption of options will follow the institutionalization of digital assets.
The move is the latest step in Kraken’s transformation from a crypto exchange to a broader financial platform offering trading, payments and other digital asset services.
Grow the market, not just market share
Rather than focusing solely on capturing market share at historic sites, Theodorou believes the biggest opportunity lies in expanding the addressable market by making options easier to use.
“The existing options market in crypto was built for a narrow slice of the trader base,” Theodorou said.
“Our offering expands access through a simple, dollar-settled contract on the same account that customers already use for spot and futures,” she added.
A retail-focused approach
According to Theodorou, the slow growth of crypto options is less of a demand problem and more of a product design problem.
“The gap between crypto options is not demand, but design,” Theodorou said.
She notes that existing crypto options platforms largely cater to institutional traders and market makers, while retail traders have instead turned to perpetual futures, which have become the industry’s dominant speculative product due to their relative simplicity.
