- Singapore-based Delta Exchange recently revealed the launch of options contracts for altcoins.
- This is the first case of options contracts for assets other than Bitcoin and Ethereum.
- The exchange added support for LINK and BNB, with plans to add even more altcoins soon.
Cryptocurrency exchange known as Delta, based in Singapore, revealed yesterday that its users can now engage in altcoin options trading. While crypto options trading is nothing new in the industry, most services that provide it only cover Bitcoin and Ethereum.
However, Delta decided to expand the list of available coins by adding support for two altcoins right away, with plans to add new ones in the future.
Delta adds support for Chainlink and Binance Coin
The two altcoins available right now include Chainlink (LINK) and Binance Coin (BNB). Binance Coin has been attracting attention for a long time now, especially as Binance’s ecosystem continues to grow. Meanwhile, Chainlink recently saw utility expansion, and it joined the World Economic Forum.
It being among the first altcoins to receive options trading support is a clear nod towards the project ecosystem’s growing importance in and out of the crypto world.
Apart from these two altcoins, Delta also has plans to include more coins in the near future, including Tezos (XTZ), Litecoin (LTC), Cosmos (ATOM), and XRP. It did not reveal the exact date when options trading for these coins will be enabled, however, apart from saying that it will happen soon.
Meanwhile, both LINK and BNB contracts will be offered for weekly durations, and will have up to 10x leverage.
The difference between futures and options
As mentioned, crypto options contracts have been around for a while, although they only included BTC and ETH. Meanwhile, there are also futures contracts that include altcoins, but that is not the same as options.
As some may know, futures contracts are deals to sell or buy assets at an agreed-upon price at a later date, which is also agreed beforehand.
Meanwhile, options contracts allow the trader to buy or sell the underlying asset at any time prior to the contract’s expiration. The contract holder can buy/sell the asset the very next day after making the deal, or they can wait until the last minute to do this. As a result, they have a lot more flexibility, and can usually profit more by reacting when the conditions are favourable.
