Injective has introduced a new on-chain options product covering real-world equity indices and commodities, expanding its derivatives infrastructure with a fully collateralized structure designed to eliminate margin calls and liquidation risk for option writers. The initial rollout spans six markets on testnet, with access to contract writing initially restricted to whitelisted participants.

The announcement, published on Oct. 27, 2026, marks another step in Injective's effort to extend synthetic asset exposure and derivatives trading onto blockchain infrastructure. The product supports call and put options linked to equity indices, precious metals, crude oil, and a specialized computing index, placing benchmarks drawn from traditional finance inside a blockchain-native derivatives framework. Call options give their holders the right to buy the underlying benchmark at a preset strike price, while put options grant the right to sell; in both cases, the writer collects an upfront premium in exchange for the obligation to pay if the contract finishes in the money.

Fully Collateralized Structure Removes Margin Calls

Injective said every option is fully backed by native Injective USDC at the time it is written, with the required collateral locked on-chain until expiration. The structure allows sellers to establish their maximum potential payout upfront, reducing exposure to the margin requirements and forced liquidations commonly associated with conventional derivatives trading.

By capping payouts and securing the required collateral in advance, the product is designed to give option writers a clearly defined maximum loss without ongoing margin calls or liquidation risk arising from collateral shortfalls. The model resembles cash-secured option writing in traditional markets, where a seller sets aside the full amount needed to cover the contract before the trade is placed.

Six Markets Cover Equities, Commodities and AI Computing

The initial testnet offering comprises six markets: the Super Intelligence Compute Index (SICI), an index tracking the top 500 U.S. companies, an index covering the top 100 U.S. technology companies, gold, silver, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil.

The inclusion of SICI connects the options product to Injective's recent expansion into computing-related financial instruments. The project introduced the index on Oct. 26, 2026, one day before announcing the options platform. According to Injective, SICI tracks the hourly rental prices of five Nvidia graphics processing units, providing a benchmark linked to demand for high-performance computing resources.

The options markets give participants a way to establish positions around that benchmark, potentially supporting hedging strategies as well as speculative exposure to movements in computing costs.

Injective said the contracts follow a European-style structure and settle in USDC. European-style options can generally be exercised only at expiration, while cash settlement allows a contract's value to be paid in the settlement currency rather than through delivery of the underlying asset — a structure that leaves holders of the gold, silver and oil contracts with no need to take possession of the physical commodities.

A new era of options infrastructure is coming to Injective. Just one day after launching the Super Intelligence Compute Index ($SICI), Injective is officially unveiling Injective Options, introducing an entirely new financial primitive for developers, institutions and users. Now LIVE on testnet.

The initial launch brings fully backed calls and puts across six distinct markets: → SICI: The first onchain AI compute index → US500: The top 500 US companies → US Tech: The top 100 US technology companies → Gold, Silver and Oil: Global commodities

Every option is fully collateralized using native Injective USDC, as USDC becomes a canonical standard across more than 20 blockchains. But these initial markets only represent just a fraction of what's possible on $INJ starting now

Developers can leverage the new options infrastructure to build white label exchanges, launch their own derivatives protocols and introduce entirely new financial products without building the underlying infrastructure from scratch. Institutions can create customized derivatives and hedging products, while users gain access to new markets and the ability to trade or write options directly onchain. As more applications launch, they can generate entirely new revenue streams for builders while bringing additional trading activity, liquidity and fees to Injective and its broader ecosystem.

Injective isn't building just another options exchange. It's introducing the composable infrastructure for an entire ecosystem of options protocols to thrive and interact with financial primitives across the onchain universe. And this is only the beginning.

— Injective (@injective) October 27, 2026

Testnet Trading Includes Institutional Liquidity Support

The initial launch is operating on testnet, with writing access limited to approved participants. Injective said an institutional liquidity provider would quote both sides of each strike price from the outset, helping establish trading liquidity across the available contracts.

The trading interface is designed to display the premium, maximum profit, maximum loss, and breakeven point before users confirm a transaction. These details are intended to help participants understand a contract's financial implications before committing capital.

Although the contracts are designed to settle automatically at expiration, participants may also close their positions earlier if both parties agree to clear the outstanding risk. That mechanism provides a way to manage exposure before the contract reaches its scheduled settlement date.

Testnet deployments allow protocols to trial new contract mechanics under simulated conditions before capital is committed on a live network. The initial testnet phase lets Injective introduce the contract mechanics and trading infrastructure ahead of any broader rollout. The announcement did not specify a date for a mainnet launch or unrestricted access.

Example Shows How Capped Options Work

Injective outlined an illustrative SICI call spread to explain the product's payout structure. In the example, a trader writes 100 capped call contracts with a strike price of $113 and a maximum payout level of $123. Each contract covers 0.01 times the index and carries a premium of $0.03, resulting in a total premium of $3. Because payouts stop at the $123 cap, the writer's largest possible obligation is known the moment the contract is written, which is what allows the full collateral amount to be locked in advance.

If SICI settles at $119, the position would pay $6. If the index reaches $125, the payout would be capped at $10. The example identifies $116 as the breakeven level, the settlement point at which the payout owed exactly offsets the premium collected by the writer.

A corresponding put example uses the same contract size and premium, with a $113 strike price and a $103 floor. The figures illustrate the proposed contract mechanics rather than actual trading volumes or market performance.

Developers Could Build Derivatives Platforms on Injective

Injective is positioning the options product as infrastructure for developers, institutions and other users seeking to introduce derivatives markets without constructing an entire trading system independently. According to the project, developers could use the underlying infrastructure to create white-label options exchanges and derivatives protocols, potentially reducing the technical work required to launch specialized financial products on-chain. Institutions can build customized derivatives and hedging products, while users gain access to new markets and the ability to trade or write options directly on-chain.

Injective also noted that USDC has become a canonical standard across more than 20 blockchains, the basis for the fully backed collateral model. As more applications launch on top of the new options infrastructure, the project expects them to generate new revenue streams for builders while bringing additional trading activity, liquidity and fees to Injective and its broader ecosystem.

The launch adds another component to Injective's broader synthetic asset strategy, combining blockchain-based collateral management, defined-risk contracts and institutional liquidity support. Its longer-term significance will depend on the availability of markets beyond testnet, participation from liquidity providers, and the extent to which traders and developers adopt the infrastructure.