Shares of Cboe Global Markets rose on Monday as the exchange operator introduced binary options tied to the Russell 2000 index, expanding its prediction markets business and adding another way for traders to take positions on outcomes linked to U.S. small-cap stocks.

The launch is the latest step in Cboe's development of short-term derivatives products, a business line the company has been building as demand for index-based trading grows.

Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (CBOE) rose 0.93% to $356.54, a gain of $3.27 on the day, as buying interest strengthened. The stock recovered from intraday lows near $351.50 before moving higher during Monday's session. The rebound followed the company's announcement of its newest index-based trading product.

Cboe Launches Mini-Russell 2000 Binary Options

Cboe announced the launch of mini-Russell 2000 Index binary options on November 9 under the ticker MRTBW. The new contracts track the MRUT index, which represents one-tenth of the value of the full Russell 2000 Index. The offering expands the company's existing range of SEC-regulated prediction market products.

The contracts allow traders to predict whether the MRUT index will finish above or below a specified level. Each contract pays a fixed amount of either $100 or $0 based on the index's final settlement value. For example, a contract targeting 280 pays $100 when MRUT settles at 280 or higher, and pays nothing if the index finishes below that threshold. Given the one-tenth scale of the MRUT index, that target level corresponds to roughly 2,800 on the full Russell 2000 Index. Unlike conventional index options, which deliver payoffs that scale with the size of the move, these contracts settle at a fixed amount regardless of how far the index moves past the target level.

Cboe will offer contracts that expire on the same trading day or on the following trading day, adding same-day and next-day expirations to the company's growing binary options suite. The Options Clearing Corporation, which serves as the central clearer for U.S.-listed options, will centrally clear the contracts under established securities market procedures. The exchange designed the product to give traders short-term exposure through straightforward predictions of market outcomes.

Russell 2000 Options Demand Supports Product Expansion

The Russell 2000 Index tracks approximately 2,000 smaller companies within the broader U.S. equity market. It forms part of the Russell 3000 Index, which covers approximately 98% of the investible U.S. equity market. As a result, the benchmark provides broad exposure to American small-cap companies across a range of industries.

Cboe reported average daily trading volume of approximately 85,000 contracts across its traditional Russell 2000 options during the first three quarters of the year. The figures reflect growing activity in derivatives linked to smaller U.S. companies, and demand for short-dated Russell 2000 options has supported further product development at the exchange.

The latest launch adds small-cap exposure alongside Cboe's existing S&P 500-based prediction market contracts. The company also plans to introduce products linked to selected corporate earnings metrics under SEC oversight. Select retail brokers currently provide access to these prediction market offerings within the registered U.S. securities trading system. Cboe publishes daily volume statistics for its listed products, which will provide a running measure of activity in the new small-cap contracts as the company extends the suite toward its planned earnings-linked offerings.