Cboe Global Markets, Inc., a leading global markets operator and pioneer in equity and index derivatives, announced the launch of the first products in its new prediction markets suite, Cboe Predicts^SM. 

 The offering includes binary option contracts based on the Mini-S&P 500 Index (XSP), listed under the symbols XSPBW and XSPBX. The contracts are now available on Interactive Brokers and expected to roll out at Charles Schwab in the coming months, with additional retail brokerage platforms expected to offer access over time. 

Cboe Predicts^SM represents the latest expansion of Cboe’s S&P 500 Index (SPX) product suite. XSP allows customers to trade on the performance of the S&P 500 Index (SPX) but is scaled to 1/10th the size of SPX – making it a smaller, more retail-friendly alternative. Traders can express a view on where XSP may close by taking a “yes” position (paying $100 if the index settles at or above a specified level, or $0 otherwise) or a “no” position (paying $100 if it settles below that level, or $0 otherwise). 

“Following the success of SPX 0DTE options, we have seen continued customer demand for shorter-dated, outcome-based trading, creating a natural extension for Cboe to introduce XSP binary options,” said JJ Kinahan, Head of Retail Expansion and Alternative Investment Products at Cboe. “Cboe’s S&P 500 options suite has long provided traders with flexibility to define their outcomes through traditional options strategies. With Cboe Predicts, we are expanding that choice by offering simple ‘yes-or-no’ payout event contracts, supported by dedicated educational resources designed to help customers participate more confidently and responsibly.” 

In a future release, Cboe also plans to enable trading of XSP vertical spreads through its proprietary, patent-pending Quoted Spread Book^SM (QSB^SM) framework. The framework is designed to package widely used options strategies into a simpler, more intuitive format, helping newer traders already comfortable with “yes/no” outcomes build familiarity with more advanced options concepts within defined-risk strategies. 

 Through access provided by leading retail brokers, Cboe’s intermediated model is designed to encompass high standards for customer education, market access and oversight. Additionally, these securities-based products are centrally cleared through the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC), providing enhanced risk management during the settlement process.

“OCC stands ready to bring the same clearing infrastructure and risk management discipline that underpins all of the products we clear to the new binary options,” said Mike Hansen, Chief Clearing and Settlement Services Officer at OCC. “Our commitment to operational excellence and financial integrity ensures that participants can engage with confidence, knowing every transaction is supported by sound, well-established clearing and settlement services.” 

“Investors increasingly seek products that allow them to express a specific view on future events and market outcomes,” said Milan Galik, Chief Executive Officer of Interactive Brokers. “Cboe’s binary options and Mini-S&P 500 Index contracts provide another way to do that, and we are pleased to make them available to Interactive Brokers clients.”

“We support approaches that bring transparency, defined risk, and investor education to financial-related prediction markets,” said James Kostulias, Head of Trading Services, Charles Schwab. “We plan to offer clients access to these binary options contracts in the coming months, building on our existing platform and demand from active traders.”

“For more than 50 years, Cboe has built and operated some of the world’s most established and trusted markets,” said Rob Hocking, Global Head of Derivatives at Cboe. “We look forward to bringing our experience, trusted market infrastructure and the deep liquidity of the SPX options ecosystem to prediction markets. Our goal is to help set a higher standard for market integrity, product design and investor protection by offering access through a regulated securities exchange and central clearing through OCC.”

Cboe has also introduced educational resources, including a new prediction markets resource hub and courses through The Options Institute, a leader in options education for more than 40 years. These courses guide learners from market basics and decision-making through Cboe’s ‘yes/no’ contracts, then into core options concepts.

Cboe’s XSP prediction market contracts are security options and will trade within the same regulatory framework as U.S.-listed options, providing institutional-grade liquidity, transparency, and surveillance, among other benefits. 

Source: Cboe