Nasdaq has filed a proposal with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seeking approval to list binary yes-or-no options contracts tied to its flagship Nasdaq-100 and Nasdaq-100 Micro Indexes. The exchange submitted its rule change on Monday, outlining a new product class called Outcome-Related Options.
The proposed contracts would function similarly to popular prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi, offering a defined payoff structure. Each contract would be priced between $0.01 and $1, reflecting implied probability levels, and would settle at either $1 if the specified outcome occurs or expire worthless at maturity. This provides traders with a structured, short-duration way to express directional views on the index.
Critically, Nasdaq plans to list these products as securities options under SEC oversight, distinguishing them from many event contracts that fall under Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) supervision. This move marks Nasdaq's formal entry into the prediction-style derivatives segment and is a direct response to growing demand for short-term outcome products.
The filing highlights the rapid growth of the event contract market. Combined monthly trading volumes on platforms Kalshi and Polymarket reached approximately $18.4 billion in February, setting a sixth consecutive monthly record. Rival exchange Cboe has also announced plans to expand into similar prediction-style markets.
The trend is also being mirrored within the crypto industry. Coinbase has introduced prediction markets on its platform tied to political and economic events, while Gemini secured CFTC approval in December to operate as a Designated Contract Market (DCM), allowing it to offer regulated binary event contracts to U.S. customers.
Nasdaq has not publicly commented beyond its regulatory submission. The SEC will now review the proposal before determining whether the exchange can proceed with launching the new binary options.
