SEC Clears Cboe Binary Options Tied to Coinbase, Marathon Data

The Securities and Exchange Commission has signed off on a Cboe proposal to list binary options tied to Coinbase trading metrics and Marathon Digital Bitcoin production figures, according to CryptoSlate. The outlet reported that regulators dated the approval to the 13th of October, 2026, with the filing appearing in the Federal Register on the 16th.

Under the newly cleared framework, payouts lock in once a contract expires, so any later revisions to a company's reported figures will not change the settlement amount, CryptoSlate said. Metrics eligible for Coinbase contracts include transaction revenue, subscription and services revenue, and total trading volume, while Marathon Digital contracts can reference Bitcoin produced and total Bitcoin holdings, per the outlet's reading of the order. The baseline gross payout on these binary options is $1, though adjustments and alternate settlement terms can apply, CryptoSlate reported. Should a referenced metric become unavailable, or if a clearinghouse decides the closing price cannot be trusted, the contract can instead lapse unexercised and pay nothing, the report said.

CryptoSlate also recalled that Cboe had outlined, in an announcement on the 30th of September, a plan to roll the product out in October across 23 companies, with Robinhood named as the first retail brokerage to offer access, and that an update on the 8th of October repeated those same conditions. As of the 17th of October, the outlet said it was still unclear whether Coinbase and Marathon Digital contracts had actually begun trading, whether Robinhood users could access them, and which of the 23 listed companies had moved forward with the rollout.