The crypto exchange Binance has announced that it will offer European Bitcoin options.

The crypto exchange Binance will expand its cryptocurrency trading offering with the introduction of a European-style Bitcoin (BTC ) options contract

The launch was announced on December 28th and follows a successful testnet attempt in November. The press release also stated that the new options contract would be settled in Tether ( USDT ).

As part of the announcement, Binance cited the growing demand for BTC options as the reason for launching the new product. Bitcoin options topped the $ 1 billion mark for the first time in early December . The total open interest rose to nearly $ 6 billion.

Changpeng Zhao, Binance CEO, commented on the launch, saying that Bitcoin, which recently hit $ 28,000, underscores the rising level of investment in the crypto space. He added:

„The growth of the crypto industry is due in large part to a combination of factors, including increased public awareness and institutional interest, innovations in DeFi protocols and smart contracts, and the development of a robust derivatives market.“

In April Binance has, as more and more other exchanges also trade in Bitcoin options with American style introduced. The main difference between the American and European formats is that traders can only exercise the latter when the contract expires.

Binance’s previous Bitcoin options were also criticized as one-sided, as users could not „write“ options and claim the premium for themselves. As a result, Binance options have generally been more expensive due to the lack of the ability to arbitrage.

The European BTC options are just one of many Binance announcements in December. As Cointelegraph reported, the exchange recently started offering Segregated Witness (SegWit) support for Bitcoin deposits .