Binance has launched options contracts tied to US stocks and exchange-traded funds, with physical settlement facilitated through the brokerage Alpaca, according to a Bloomberg Law report dated September 1, 2026.
The offering expands Binance's equities business beyond spot trading. In June, the exchange began allowing users to trade stocks and ETFs directly. Options introduce hedging mechanics that spot trading does not provide, letting traders bet on price moves without owning the underlying assets outright.
Alpaca, a commission-free brokerage API, handles the settlement layer. When an options contract expires in-the-money, Alpaca delivers or receives the actual shares or ETF units rather than cash-settling the profit or loss. This mechanism ties crypto derivatives to traditional securities infrastructure and imposes custody and regulatory requirements that crypto-native platforms typically avoid.
Binance's equities unit has grown since its June launch. The platform made 7,000 stocks and ETFs available for spot trading at that time. The company has not published a complete roster of instruments eligible for options trading, though the announcement confirms the feature is now live.
US regulators have pursued Binance aggressively over anti-money-laundering and sanctions compliance, resulting in a $4.3 billion settlement in 2023. The SEC has begun approving spot bitcoin and ethereum ETFs. Binance's options product does not operate under a US broker-dealer license; the company operates from the Cayman Islands and does not accept new US residents on its main platform.
Alpaca's participation means Binance now has acceptance as a settlement partner from at least one licensed US brokerage. Alpaca is not regulated as a full broker-dealer itself but operates as an alternative trading system subject to SEC oversight.
Binance's equities business, launched quietly without major exchange announcements, has grown in parallel to its core crypto trading. Options on stocks represent a higher-complexity product than spot trading, requiring more sophisticated risk management and customer qualification. Bloomberg Law's coverage was the first public reporting of the feature's availability.
