Bybit, one of the world’s top cryptocurrency exchanges by trading volume, has launched options trading on Tether Gold (XAUT), a token that provides you ownership of real physical gold.
The XAUT options are now live and allow traders to hedge risk, speculate on gold price movements, trade volatility, and build custom strategies through Bybit’s Request for Quote (RFQ) system for over-the-counter (OTC) deals.
Bybit partnered with Orbit Markets, a leading crypto options market maker, to ensure deep liquidity from the start. Orbit’s team brings significant expertise, including former senior executives from precious metals trading desks, notably the ex-APAC Head of Currencies and Precious Metals at Deutsche Bank.
“As tokenization accelerates, we believe the distinction between crypto and TradFi will continue to narrow,” said Jimmy Yang, co-founder of Orbit Markets. “Gold options are a cornerstone of traditional derivatives markets, and we are excited to see growing interest in TradFi derivatives within crypto.”
The XAUT options are European-style contracts settled in dollar-pegged stablecoin USDT, with each options contract corresponding to one XAUT token, which itself represents one troy ounce of physical gold.
Options are derivative contracts that give the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell the underlying asset at a set price before or on a specific date. A call option gives the right to buy, while a put option gives the right to sell.
Think of it like paying a small fee (the premium) for the right to buy a property at today’s price in the future. If the price rises, you can still buy at the lower agreed price. If it falls, you can walk away and only lose the premium. That’s a call. A put works in the opposite direction.
Traders primarily use options to hedge directional risk or to express views on volatility.
The global gold options market is already a multi-billion-dollar industry, dominated by exchanges like the CME and India’s MCX, with a large portion of volume traded OTC.
Bybit’s launch brings this established asset class on-chain for the first time on a major crypto platform.
XAUT options have been available on smaller platforms like CoinCall since November 2024, but Bybit’s entry marks the first time a top-tier exchange has offered them with institutional-grade liquidity support.
In May, combined exchange volumes fell 3.45% to $4.41T; the lowest since September 2024. RWA perpetual futures volumes rose 10.4% against the trend, hitting a new all-time high.
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