CoinDesk
Binance launched European-style options on gold and silver on Wednesday, settling the contracts in USDT through Nest Exchange Limited, its Abu Dhabi Global Market-regulated venue. The product sits on top of the exchange's commodity perpetual futures, introduced earlier this year, which Binance says have hit peak daily volumes of $7.77 billion for gold and $7.27 billion for silver, equivalent to roughly 3 to 8 percent of COMEX gold volume and 9 to 20 percent of COMEX silver volume at those peaks.
Why it matters
Shunyet Jan, head of exchange and trading at Binance, framed the launch as a response to investors seeking inflation hedges outside traditional equities while gold trades at record highs. The contract benchmark is built from a weighted average of multiple independent third-party price feeds rather than any single venue or token, a structural choice that positions the product as compliant, crypto-native exposure to a traditional asset. Options on the metals layer a higher-margin product on top of a futures order book that already drew billions, the textbook playbook for derivatives venues building from futures liquidity into optionality.
Market impact
Retail traders can buy calls and puts but are barred from writing options, capping their downside at the premium paid and stripping out liquidation risk that comes with short-option exposure. Writing is reserved for the exchange and designated market makers, and Binance says it is exploring limited retail writing under stricter rules as it expands the options suite. The exchange retained roughly 55 percent of user funds and 24 percent of spot share, drawing net inflows in early July even as the broader tracked market saw outflows, a context that frames the commodity push as offensive expansion rather than defensive repositioning.
Frequently asked questions
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What did Binance launch on Wednesday?
Binance launched European-style options on gold and silver, settled in USDT through Nest Exchange Limited, its Abu Dhabi Global Market-regulated venue.
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How big are Binance's metals perpetual futures?
Gold perpetuals peaked at $7.77 billion in daily volume and silver perpetuals hit $7.27 billion, equivalent to roughly 3 to 8 percent of COMEX gold volume and 9 to 20 percent of COMEX silver volume at those peaks.
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Can retail traders write gold and silver options on Binance?
No. Retail traders can buy calls and puts but are barred from writing options, capping their downside at the premium paid and stripping out liquidation risk tied to short-option exposure.
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How is the options benchmark priced?
Contracts reference a weighted average of multiple independent third-party price feeds reporting on traditional gold and silver markets, rather than any single venue or token, according to Binance.
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What is Nest Exchange Limited?
Nest Exchange Limited is Binance's Abu Dhabi Global Market-regulated entity through which the new gold and silver options are offered, giving the product a regulated wrapper for compliant commodity exposure.
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