Understanding options
An option is an agreement between two parties that grants the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an asset at a predetermined price in the future. The buyer pays the seller a premium upfront for this right.
At Bullish, you can buy or sell two types of options:
Call Options: These give the holder the right to purchase the asset if the price rises.
Put Options: These allow the holder to sell the asset if the price falls.
| Long(Buy) | Short(Sell) |
|---|---|---|
Call Option |
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Put Option |
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An Options contract typically includes several key components, each of which plays a crucial role in defining the contract's terms and trading conditions. Below are the key components of a dated futures contract:
Style : European Options (cannot be exercised early )
Strike Price : The price at which the option will be exercised and it will be fixed prices at range of deltas from 5D to 95D.
Expiration price : Expires into the Dated Future.
Delivery price : (30mn TWAP of the BTC-USD CCIXber Index) / (Bullish USDC-USD Index)
Expiry: The specific date and time when the Options contract must be settled. At Bullish, the expiration occurs on Friday at 08:05 AM UTC.
Tenors: At Bullish, we support 5 tenors for BTC options (see the current expiry schedule below):
Daily: 4 daily contracts expiring every day over the next four days
Weekly: 3 weekly contracts expiring every Friday over the next three weeks
Monthly: 3 monthly contracts expiring on the last Friday of each of the next three months
Quarterly: 4 quarterly contracts expiring on the last Friday of Mar / Jun / Sep / Dec, out to ~1 year
Long-dated: semi-annual contracts (last Friday of Jun and Dec) plus January LEAPS (last Friday of Jan), extending coverage out to ~2.5 years — aligned with IBIT LEAPS expiry coverage
Delivery: Cash settled at expiry in USDC.
Trading Fees: The costs incurred when trading the options contract i.e taker and maker fees.
No Expiration fees
Currently listed expiries (as of Thu, 02 Jul 2026):
# | Tenor bucket | Expiry date |
|---|---|---|
1 | Quarterly | Fri, 25 Sep 2026 |
2 | Quarterly | Fri, 25 Dec 2026 |
3 | Quarterly | Fri, 26 Mar 2027 |
4 | Quarterly | Fri, 25 Jun 2027 |
5 | Semi-annual | Fri, 31 Dec 2027 |
6 | January LEAPS | Fri, 28 Jan 2028 |
7 | Semi-annual | Fri, 30 Jun 2028 |
8 | Semi-annual | Fri, 29 Dec 2028 |
Daily, weekly, and monthly expiries are not shown — they roll continuously per the rules above. All expiries settle at 08:05 UTC.
Breaking down a BTC/USDC 20250704-70000-C Options Contract on Bullish
Type: European Call Option
Underlying Asset: Bitcoin(BTC)
Strike Price: 70,000 USDC
Premium: 500 USDC
Expiration Date: July 4th, 2025
Settlement: Cash settled in USDC
Expiration Time: 8 AM UTC
Option moneyness
Option's moneyness describes the relationship between an option's strike price and the current market price of its underlying asset. It essentially tells you whether the option would be profitable if it were exercised immediately.
There are three states of moneyness:
In-the-Money (ITM): The option has intrinsic value and is profitable to exercise.
For a Call Option: The strike price is below the current market price of the underlying asset.
For a Put Option: The strike price is above the current market price of the underlying asset.
At-the-Money (ATM): The option's strike price is the same as, or very close to, the current market price. It has no intrinsic value.
Out-of-the-Money (OTM): The option has no intrinsic value and is not profitable to exercise.
For a Call Option: The strike price is above the current market price.
For a Put Option: The strike price is below the current market price.