Cryptocurrency exchange Binance is now offering gold (TVC: $GOLD) and silver (TVC: $SILVER) options trading on its platform.
Privately held Binance, which is the world’s biggest crypto exchange by volume, has launched options trading for the leading precious metals.
In a news release, Binance said it decided to offer gold and silver options trading after seeing strong demand for perpetual futures related to the metals.
“We’ve seen strong demand for our commodity perpetuals since introducing them earlier this year, and commodity options build on that momentum,” said Binance.
Options are derivative contracts used by professional traders to hedge risks related to price volatility.
Binance is launching its gold and silver options trading during an extremely volatile time for the metals market, driven by rising crude oil prices and the prospect of higher interest rates.
Higher interest rates are a negative for non-yielding assets such as gold and silver.
Binance said that trading in gold perpetuals, or perps, on its platform has hit a peak daily volume of $7.77 billion U.S.
However, the options trading is mainly targeted at Binance’s institutional clients. Individual retail investors can buy call and put options on gold and silver, but they can’t short the metals.
Binance said it is also offering education videos about options trading for its customers and seeking to help manage risk for investors.
The company plans to eventually expand the options products to other assets, though it did not say which ones.
Binance is privately held and its stock does not trade on a public exchange.
