CME Group

CME Group lists cryptocurrency options on regulated futures markets rather than operating a direct crypto-custody exchange. Its Bitcoin, Ether, Solana and XRP options fit a broker-and-clearing-member structure for traders already using CME futures to manage crypto exposure.

Listed crypto options on Globex and negotiated block trades

Calls and puts on CME crypto futures trade through the CME Globex central limit order book. Bitcoin and Ether have standard and micro contract families, with Micro Bitcoin and Micro Ether futures and options sized at one-tenth of the respective token.

Eligible Contract Participants can also negotiate qualifying options, futures or combination transactions as block trades and submit them for clearing. That provides a cleared route for larger bilateral transactions without turning the public order book into the only way to establish a position.

Options that usually exercise into a futures position

Most CME cryptocurrency options exercise into the underlying CME future. An in-the-money option therefore creates a long or short futures position at the strike; it does not deliver bitcoin, ether, SOL or XRP to a wallet. Most CME options on futures are European style, so exercise occurs at expiration.

Bitcoin Friday Futures options are the exception. They are financially settled against the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate New York Variant rather than delivering a futures position. Their one-bitcoin Friday future gives the product a short-dated weekly benchmark cycle.

Broker-cleared collateral rather than crypto account custody

CME Clearing handles the contracts through the customer's futures-broker relationship. Margin and collateral sit within that clearing structure, while CME does not take custody of cryptocurrency because its options reference futures and settle financially or into futures.

This differs from Deribit's direct crypto-derivatives account, which offers coin-settled inverse BTC and ETH options and USDC-linear contracts with daily expiries. CME is the more natural continuation of a regulated futures book; Deribit gives crypto-native traders coin or USDC settlement and a broader set of listed altcoin options.