Bitget has opened US stock options trading to its user base, marking the latest expansion of its Stock+ platform. The launch lets users trade long calls and long puts on US-listed companies—a call grants a bullish position while a put expresses a bearish view or hedges downside risk. Premium paid caps loss for buyers; contracts expire worthless if expected price movement doesn't happen.
The exchange positioned itself as the only major crypto exchange offering US stock options alongside crypto and contract-for-difference markets in gold, forex, commodities and indices. Bitget's CEO Gracy Chen told Bitcoin Magazine the move fits the company's strategy to "connect stock opportunities with our users" across multiple asset classes. The initial release focuses on single-leg options buying, with multi-leg strategies planned as the product matures.
Stock options join Bitget's earlier stock offerings—tokenized stocks that track real equities and pre-IPO access to private market deals. The Stock+ platform itself is marketed as direct access to US equities for traders accustomed to regulated market infrastructure. That positioning matters: crypto exchanges offering traditional-finance derivatives walk a fine line between offering useful tools and inviting regulatory scrutiny over whether they're operating as unlicensed brokers or derivatives dealers.
Demand for US options has climbed sharply. Market data shows the options market processed more than 15.2 billion contracts in 2025, averaging roughly 60 million per trading day. That reflects broader adoption of options among retail and institutional traders for directional bets, hedging and capital allocation.
Bitget claims over 125 million users and access to more than two million crypto tokens alongside 500-plus tokenized stocks, ETFs, commodities, forex pairs and precious metals. The exchange holds partnerships with MotoGP and UNICEF, using the latter to fund blockchain education targeting 1.1 million people by 2027. The company states it leads the tokenized traditional-finance market across 150 regions.
For the launch, eligible users completing a first options trade may receive $15 in NVIDIA stock, subject to campaign terms and regional restrictions. That incentive structure is common among exchanges seeking to drive engagement with new products, though regional availability hints at the regulatory patchwork crypto platforms navigate when offering stock-linked derivatives.