What are Perp Options? A beginner's guide to Perp Options on Bybit

Perp Options are options contracts written on Bybit's TradFi perpetual contracts, giving traders the ability to buy and sell calls and puts on traditional financial assets such as US equities and ETFs, all from within the Bybit platform. They are European-style, cash-settled in USDT, and available to trade around the clock, including weekends and holidays. If you already use a Unified Trading Account (UTA) on Bybit, you can start trading Perp Options with USDT collateral. No separate brokerage account is required.

Key Takeaways:

• Perp Options are options contracts whose underlying assets are Bybit-issued TradFi perpetual contracts that track US equities and ETFs, not the stocks themselves.

• They are European-style and cash-settled in USDT, meaning there is no early assignment risk and no physical delivery of shares.

• A contract multiplier of 1 lower the capital barrier significantly compared to the 100-share-per-contract standard at traditional brokers.

What are Perp Options and how do they work?

An option gives the holder the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an underlying asset at a specified price (the strike) by a specified date (the expiry). In traditional finance, stock options are written on the shares themselves. Perp Options work the same way mechanically, but the underlying asset is a Bybit-issued TradFi perpetual contract rather than the stock directly.

For example, a Perp Options call on TSLA is written on the TSLA TradFi perpetual contract, which tracks Tesla's equity price. You are not buying or selling Tesla shares; you are trading options on a perpetual contract that follows Tesla's price.

This structure is what makes 24/7 availability and USDT settlement possible. Because the underlying is a perpetual contract, not a security traded on NYSE or NASDAQ, Perp Options are not bound by traditional exchange hours or physical delivery requirements.

Calls and puts

• Call option: gives the buyer the right to a long position in the underlying perpetual at the strike price. Traders buy calls when they expect the underlying to rise.

• Put option: gives the buyer the right to a short position in the underlying perpetual at the strike price. Traders buy puts when they expect the underlying to fall.

On Bybit, you can both buy and sell calls and puts. Selling options (writing) is fully supported, including naked positions, a capability that many traditional brokers restrict or do not offer to retail accounts.

Key product features

European-style, cash-settled in USDT

Perp Options follow European-style rules: they can only be exercised at expiry, never before. This eliminates early assignment risk for sellers and makes the product more straightforward for newer traders.At expiry:

• In-the-money (ITM) options are auto-exercised and settled in USDT. The profit is credited to your account automatically.

• Out-of-the-money (OTM) options expire worthless. No further action is needed.

There is no physical delivery of the underlying perpetual contract. Settlement is purely cash-based in USDT.

24/7 trading

Traditional stock options trade only during US market hours, roughly 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM ET on weekdays. Perp Options trade around the clock, every day of the week. You can open, close, or adjust positions at any time, including evenings, weekends and US public holidays.

Trade from your existing Bybit UTA

Perp Options sit inside Bybit's Unified Trading Account, the same account you use for crypto spot, derivatives and TradFi perpetual contracts. There is no separate brokerage application, no additional KYC with a legacy broker, and no settlement delays. USDT serves as your collateral.Two margin modes are available:

• Cross Margin: your entire UTA balance supports all open positions.

• Portfolio Margin: positions offset each other, so hedged portfolios use less margin. For example, holding a TradFi perpetual position alongside an options hedge in the same account can reduce your overall margin requirement.

Contract multiplier of 1

At traditional brokers, one stock options contract controls 100 shares of the underlying. A single NVDA call option, for instance, would represent over $22,000 in notional value at current prices, a significant capital commitment just to enter a position.

Bybit Perp Options use a contract multiplier of 1, not 100. This lowers the minimum capital needed to trade options on major equities and ETFs.

Available underlying assets at launch

Perp Options launch with eight underlying TradFi perpetual contracts:

The expiry calendar includes next-day, 3-day, 4-day, weekly, bi-weekly, tri-weekly and monthly contracts. Expiries skip US non-trading days (weekends and federal holidays), and settlement follows the US market close at UTC 20:00 during daylight saving time or UTC 21:00 during standard time. The settlement price is determined by a 30-minute TWAP (time-weighted average price) of the underlying index price before expiry.

How Perp Options compare to traditional options

The European-style design removes the risk of early assignment, which simplifies position management, particularly for sellers. Cash settlement in USDT means you never need to handle share delivery or manage equity positions. And because Perp Options share a UTA with your other Bybit positions, you can delta-hedge a TradFi perpetual position with an options position in the same account.

Who are Perp Options designed for?

Perp Options serve several types of traders:

• Crypto-native traders seeking TradFi exposure. If you already trade on Bybit and want to express a view on Tesla, NVIDIA or the Nasdaq 100 without opening a brokerage account, Perp Options give you that access with USDT collateral.

• TradFi options traders looking for 24/7 access. Experienced options traders from traditional markets gain round-the-clock availability and Portfolio Margin, features that most traditional brokers do not offer together.

• Existing Bybit perp traders adding options strategies. If you hold TradFi perpetual positions on Bybit, you can now layer on covered calls, protective puts, within the same UTA.

• New-to-options users. European-style simplicity (no early assignment), small position sizes ( multiplier of 1), and a familiar Bybit interface make Perp Options an accessible entry point for learning options mechanics.

The bottom line

Perp Options bring options trading on traditional financial assets into the Bybit ecosystem. They are available 24/7, settled in USDT, and accessible from the same Unified Trading Account you already use. With European-style settlement, a contract multiplier of 1, and full support for advanced strategies including naked options and Portfolio Margin, the product removes many of the capital and access barriers associated with traditional stock options. Whether you are a crypto-native trader branching into equities or an experienced options trader looking for around-the-clock access, Perp Options offer a flexible way to trade calls and puts on major US equities and ETFs. For step-by-step instructions, see How to trade Perp Options on Bybit.

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