Cboe extends S & P 500 options agreement until 2051, explores tokenization contracts

Cboe Global Markets renewed its exclusive licensing agreement with S & P Dow Jones Indices until 2051, exploring the core points of tokenized options cooperation

This 25-year renewal retains Cboe's exclusive right to provide S & P 500 Index options. Cboe reported that the trading volume of SPX options contracts in 2025 will reach 970.6 million, an increase of 25% from 2024. The two companies listed tokenized options as a potential area of cooperation, but have not announced specific products or launch dates. The revised royalty terms will take effect in 2027 and are expected to have minimal impact on Cboe's net income growth.

Cboe and S&P Dow Jones Indices announced the extension agreement on September 29, consolidating the exchange operator's right to trade options linked to the S & P 500, or SPX options. The two parties also mentioned tokenized option contracts as a potential common research direction, but did not disclose any filing information, trading venue, settlement design or timetable.

For traders who use SPX options to manage positions or hedge risk in U.S. stocks, the agreement ensures that the index license remains held by Cboe for the next 25 years. For Cboe shareholders, this extends commercial arrangements related to one of the company's most active products.

Cboe received SPX option rights until 2051

Cboe's cooperation with the S & P Dow Jones Indices began in 1983, when SPX options began trading. Under the renewed agreement, Cboe will retain exclusive rights to license options based on the S & P 500 index until 2051.

此次续约紧随该产品创纪录的一年之后。据Cboe透露，2025年SPX期权交易量同比增长25%，达到9.706亿份合约。日均交易量达到390万份，创下连续第四年的年度新高。

Cboo首席执行官Craig Donohue表示，该协议为公司SPX和VIX业务提供了“确定性和连续性”。他还指出了利用新兴技术开发产品的机会，尽管公告中并未列出代币化期权的具体商业计划。

财务条款将在本年度之后发生变化。Cboe表示，2026年的特许权使用费条款保持不变，而修订后的条款将于2027年生效。公司预计这次重置对其净收入增长的影响极小。据报道，公告发布后，Cboe股价在盘前交易中上涨6.6%。

此次延期取代了此前较短的剩余期限。在其2025年年度报告中，Cboe曾表示现有安排有效期至2033年，其中标普500指数期权的独家权利有效期至2032年。新协议将这些权利的有效期延长至2051年。

代币化期权仍为潜在产品

除了许可证续期外，Cboe和标普道琼斯指数表示，他们可以探索代币化期权合约。两家公司均未描述此类合约如何交易或结算，是否由区块链记录所有权或交易，以及提案何时提交监管机构。

As a result, tokenized contracts are still different from existing SPX options. The announcement only left room for the two companies to cooperate in this area and did not provide investors with tokenized SPX options.

Cboe has added another type of S & P 500-pegged contract to its U.S. options business. In June, the company launched binary options linked to the mini S & P 500 index through Cboe Predicts. These contracts allow traders to make a "yes" or "no" judgment on the final point of the benchmark index and trade as security options under the existing U.S. listed options framework. Cboe has not issued similar product or regulatory announcements regarding tokenized SPX contracts.

Other U.S. exchanges are building tokenized securities systems

In August, the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, agreed to invest in tZERO and license its blockchain patents. The two companies are developing infrastructure to build a tokenized securities platform associated with the New York Stock Exchange, including digital transfer agents and broker systems. The platform still needs regulatory approval to provide round-the-clock trading and blockchain settlement services.

ICE's projects involve tokenized securities, while Cboe's newly identified area of interest is options contracts. The distinction is important to U.S. investors because the two companies describe different products and are at different stages: ICE and tZERO have announced infrastructure agreements, while Cboe and the S & P Dow Jones Indices have only disclosed possible areas of cooperation.

Cboe现有的标普500期权也为其提供了不同的起点。该公司已经运营着一个庞大的挂钩基准指数的合约市场，并获得了该指数未来25年的许可。其公告并未说明未来的代币化合约是否会使用现有的SPX交易安排，或者是否需要单独的市场结构。

SEC提案涉及证券记录

美国监管机构正在审视区块链在证券市场中的使用，但迄今为止的工作并未授权代币化的Cboe期权合约。9月1日，美国证券交易委员会（SEC）提议更新其关于过户代理的规则，过户代理负责维护正式的证券所有权记录并处理所有权变更。

拟议的过户代理改革涵盖数字记录、网络安全、业务连续性、外部技术提供商以及证券和客户资金的保护。该提案尚未成为最终规则。其对所有权记录的关注也与代币化期权产品可能引发的关于合约交易和结算的问题有所不同。

此外，SEC授予符合条件的交易平台五年有条件豁免，允许通过许可系统交易代币化美国股票。参与平台必须满足涉及股东权利、交易限制、公共智能合约和协调交易暂停的条件。该豁免适用于符合条件的代币化股票，不适用于Cboe和标普道琼斯指数表示可能探索的代币化期权。