Bullish as CoinDesk's sister company revolutionizes the Bitcoin options market, overtaking giants like Binance and CME

Derivatives platform Bullish, CoinDesk’s sister company, has emerged as a transformative player in the Bitcoin options market, cementing its position as the third-largest exchange in this segment. This move reflects not only intensifying competition between platforms but also a profound shift in the structure of the cryptocurrency market towards more sophisticated and less speculative strategies based on leverage.

Open interest in Bitcoin options ($65 billion in notional value) now significantly outweighs open interest in futures ($60 billion), cementing a trend that began in July 2025. This reversal signals an essential transformation: the migration from speculators who operated with heavy leverage to institutional investors seeking hedging and volatility management strategies. With Bitcoin oscillating in a contained range between $80,000 and $95,000 since November, options have become the predominant segment of the derivatives complex, evidencing the maturation of the crypto market.

The dominance of options over futures: a marker of market maturity

The growing preference for options over futures contracts represents more than a tactical shift by traders. It reflects a strategic repositioning of large institutional investors who perceive value in volatility protection tools. When Bitcoin hit its all-time high of $126,000 in October, open interest in options reached nearly $120 billion before retracting significantly by the end of the year, largely due to scheduled contract expirations.

During the same period, leverage was eliminated from the equation: Bitcoin retreated 35% while open interest in futures plummeted from approximately $94 billion. This contrasting dynamic illustrates the underlying truth about the two instruments—options provide protection; futures expose to amplified risk.

BlackRock IBIT redefines the architecture of the crypto options market

The impact of BlackRock’s participation in the Bitcoin options market is practically dominant. The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) represents about $33 billion in open interest in options—equivalent to a record 52% of the total market. IBIT options trading began only in November 2024, and since then the Nasdaq ISE has applied for approval to increase position limits from 250,000 contracts to 1 million contracts, signaling unprecedented institutional demand.

This concentration reflects the strategic confidence of traditional asset managers to use options as an instrument of volatility. BlackRock’s massive presence has bolstered the legitimacy of crypto derivatives among mainstream institutions, accelerating the market’s transition toward more mature and less speculative structures.

Bullish outshines historical rivals: CoinDesk’s sister company rises through the trading ranks

Bullish has overtaken established platforms such as OKX, Binance and CME to cement its position as the second-largest Bitcoin options exchange, second only to Deribit. This rise came in just a few months after the launch of its options trading operations, representing one of the fastest pivots in the recent history of crypto derivatives platforms.

Bullish’s growth to over $3 billion in notional open interest in options reflects its competitive advantage as CoinDesk’s sister company, allowing access to market intelligence, distribution, and brand trust. The aggressive strategy of partnering with a consortium of institutional trading partners positioned the platform as a credible alternative to Deribit, breaking the exchange’s virtually absolute hegemony for the first time in years.

The relative decline of Deribit: fragmentation of a historic monopoly

Deribit’s hegemony in the Bitcoin options market has reached its inflection point. The platform, owned by Coinbase, now holds approximately $26 billion in open interest in options, a considerable step backwards from the $43 billion recorded just before the year-end expiry. Its market dominance has fallen to less than 39%—a dramatic decline compared to the more than 90% it enjoyed five years ago.

This market erosion does not represent Deribit’s weakness, but rather the maturation of the crypto ecosystem. Institutional investors now distribute their derivatives flow among multiple counterparties, reducing counterparty risk concentration. The entry of players such as BlackRock, Nasdaq-listed exchanges, and platforms such as Bullish has fragmented a market that was previously dominated by a single entity.

Volatility contagion: crypto risk on the move

As the derivatives market matured, higher volatility assets experienced significant pressure. XRP has retreated approximately 5.47% to $1.81, reflecting a broader risk sell-off. The decline accelerated after breaking below the critical support around $1.87, accompanied by elevated volume that wiped out the gains accumulated in the previous week.

Traders now monitor $1.80 as a crucial level of support for XRP. A sustained move above $1.87–$1.90 would be needed to signal a genuine recovery rather than continuing on a bearish trajectory. This behavior underscores that while the derivatives market is migrating to sophisticated hedging strategies, volatility in the underlying assets remains a material risk factor for speculative positions.

The Way Forward: Competitive Consolidation and Structural Maturation

The Bitcoin options market is entering a new era of structured competition and institutional maturation. The rise of Bullish as CoinDesk’s sister company, BlackRock IBIT’s dominance, and market share fragmentation signal that the crypto derivatives ecosystem has finally achieved scale and sophistication commensurate with traditional financial markets. While open interest in options continues to outpace futures, institutional investors will continue to flock to instruments that offer superior risk management to pure leverage-based speculation.