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Bitget just added US stock options to its Stock+ platform, giving crypto-native traders another reason to never open a traditional brokerage account. The exchange launched commission-free options trading on July 2, offering more than 540 contracts covering major indices like the S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100, plus popular ETFs.
Here’s the thing: this isn’t a tokenized wrapper or a synthetic derivative. Bitget is routing actual equity options through licensed US brokers, including RQD Clearing and Atomic Vaults Securities, with orders hitting Nasdaq and NYSE. Users can fund their accounts with digital assets like USDC, then trade real options on real stocks.
From crypto exchange to universal exchange
The options launch builds on Bitget’s Stock+ platform, which debuted around June 22-23 and already provides direct ownership of more than 10,000 US stocks and ETFs. That means dividends, voting rights, the whole package. Not a synthetic approximation of ownership, but actual shares held through regulated intermediaries.
Bitget has been calling this its “Universal Exchange” strategy. In early June, the exchange rolled out its Stocks 2.0 initiative featuring tokenized equities, called rTokens, built on the Reality RWA protocol. That program has already accumulated more than $50 million in total assets under management across over 500 assets.
To sweeten the deal, Bitget is offering $15 worth of NVIDIA stock to eligible users who complete their first US stock or ETF options trade.
What this means for investors
For crypto traders, the appeal is obvious. Options trading opens up strategies that simply aren’t possible with spot positions alone. Covered calls, protective puts, straddles on earnings announcements. These are tools that equity traders have used for decades, and Bitget is making them accessible to an audience that might have found traditional brokerages unnecessarily complicated or geographically restricted.
The USDC funding mechanism is worth paying attention to. It eliminates the friction of converting crypto to fiat before placing a trade. If you’re sitting on stablecoins earning yield in DeFi, you can now deploy some of that capital into equity options without ever touching a bank account.
There are risks worth flagging, though. Regulatory scrutiny is the elephant in the room. Any platform offering US equity derivatives to a global user base is navigating a complex web of securities regulations. Bitget’s use of licensed US brokers like RQD Clearing provides a compliance layer, but jurisdictional restrictions will likely limit who can actually access these products.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
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