Cboe revives S&P 500 binary options to compete with Kalshi, Polymarket
Cboe Global Markets is reviving S&P 500 binary options after discontinuing the product in 2012, entering direct competition with CFTC-regulated prediction market platforms Kalshi and Polymarket. The exchange operator announced the relaunch on Tuesday, June 23, offering contracts that pay out based on whether the index closes above or below a specific level. Unlike crypto-native platforms, Cboe's version uses its regulated exchange infrastructure and listed securities structure. A new 'plus' feature lets traders define risk beyond traditional yes-or-no payoffs. The move targets retail and institutional demand for macroeconomic event contracts that has driven volume on newer prediction market venues.
Cboe's existing options exchange status lets it bypass CFTC registration delays that slowed Kalshi and Polymarket, giving the world's second-largest stock exchange a structural speed advantage in capturing retail prediction-market flow. Schwab's 39 million brokerage accounts give this product built-in distribution scale that startups must fight for user by user.