Bitget Debuts First Crypto US Stock Options as Bitcoin Holds Near $62K

Crypto News

Bitget, described as the world’s largest Universal Exchange, has become the first major crypto platform to launch US stock options trading, giving eligible users direct access to options on leading US-listed companies. The rollout, confirmed in the exchange’s official announcement, positions Bitget as the only major crypto venue offering US stock options alongside its crypto and CFD markets spanning gold, forex, commodities and indices. The move lands during a fragile tape, with Bitcoin (BTC) trading near $62,000 and sentiment pinned in extreme fear, as the exchange wagers that traditional Wall Street instruments can broaden its appeal beyond spot and derivatives crypto trading for a global user base.

According to the exchange’s official announcement, the initial release supports single-leg strategies: long calls, which express a bullish view on a stock, and long puts, used to take a bearish position or hedge downside exposure. For option buyers, risk is capped at the premium paid, though a contract can expire worthless if the anticipated price move fails to materialize. Bitget said it deliberately narrowed the launch to single-leg buying to give newcomers a clear entry point, with more advanced multi-leg structures planned as the product matures. Unlike an AI trading bot, these are manually directional positions requiring the trader’s own market read.

The options launch extends Bitget’s Stock+ product line, which already includes tokenized stocks and pre-IPO access to private-market opportunities. The exchange has positioned itself as a leading venue for tokenized-stock trading, and stock options now add another widely used Wall Street instrument to the mix. The stated goal is convergence: folding crypto, equities, commodities and other global assets into a single multi-asset environment. For traders accustomed to regulated equity infrastructure, the addition offers a familiar toolkit inside a crypto-native platform — a bridge few altcoin-era exchanges have attempted at this scale, aimed squarely at earnings-cycle and portfolio-risk use cases.

Demand for listed options has climbed to record levels, underscoring the commercial logic behind the launch. The US options market processed more than 15.2 billion contracts in 2025, an average of roughly 60 million contracts per trading day — figures that reflect all-time-high participation from both retail and institutional traders. That growth points to wider adoption of options for directional bets, hedging and capital management. By plugging into that flow, Bitget is targeting a proven, high-volume market rather than an untested one, betting that crypto-native users increasingly want exposure to the same instruments dominating regulated US equity desks.

Bitget CEO Gracy Chen framed the launch as part of a longer strategy, saying the exchange has “consistently moved first to connect stock opportunities with our users” and that the shift from tokenized stocks to options reflects execution on convergence. To mark the debut, eligible users who complete their first US stock options trade may receive $15 worth of NVIDIA stock, subject to campaign terms and regional availability. Bitget cautioned that options trading carries significant risk, that product availability and supported securities vary by jurisdiction, and that buyers should understand they can lose the entire premium paid if a position moves against them.

The launch arrives against a subdued crypto backdrop. COINOTAG aggregate market data shows the total crypto market capitalization at roughly $1.78 trillion, with Bitcoin (BTC) trading near $62,000 and Ethereum (ETH) around $1,735 as of publication. The COINOTAG Fear & Greed Index sits at 21 out of 100, deep in extreme fear, while Bitcoin dominance stands at 69.3% — a level that signals capital concentrating in the majors rather than rotating into higher-risk assets. That risk-averse tape helps explain the timing: when crypto volatility cools and even Aave and other DeFi names lose momentum, alternative revenue lines gain appeal.

Our reading is that these threads point to a single arc: the steady erosion of the wall between crypto exchanges and traditional finance. Bitget’s move to list US stock options — a first for a major crypto venue — is less a one-off product than a signal that multi-asset convergence is becoming table stakes for the largest platforms. Anchored on COINOTAG’s own aggregate data, the context is telling: with the Fear & Greed Index at 21, market capitalization near $1.78 trillion and Bitcoin dominance at 69.3%, exchanges face flat crypto volumes and a clear incentive to court equity and options flow. The winners will be venues that add that breadth without diluting execution quality or regulatory clarity.