Kraken Opens Crypto Options to EEA Clients
Kraken has opened bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) options to eligible clients in the European Economic Area (EEA) on its Kraken Pro platform, Finance Magnates reported yesterday. Trading is by request for quote (RFQ), in which a client specifies a trade and receives priced offers, and there is no public order book.
The service comes from Payward Europe Digital Solutions (CY) Limited, formerly I.F. Greenfields Wealth Ltd, according to Kraken’s own pages. The firm holds licence 342/17 from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) to provide investment services under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II), the EU’s core rulebook for trading venues and intermediaries.
Kraken’s EEA futures already ran under the same licence, according to a Kraken support page last updated on 3 July 2025.
Kraken’s product page describes RFQ as the only mode in this first phase. A client picks BTC or ETH, builds a strategy, chooses strike and expiry, and submits; quotes return within seconds, and accepting the best books the trade instantly. A central limit order book, where all orders sit in one public queue, is on Kraken’s build list. According to the report, a public order book and more underlying assets could follow, with no timetable.
The report described contracts on XBT/USD and ETH/USD, denominated in US dollars, with weekly, monthly, quarterly and semi-annual expiries and up to five components per RFQ. Kraken’s page describes the options as European-style, meaning exercisable only at expiry, and cash-settled, meaning settled in cash rather than coins.
On margining, Kraken’s page says the premium is not paid upfront, portfolio margin is on by default, and more than 30 currencies are eligible as collateral. Portfolio margin sets requirements across a client’s combined positions rather than trade by trade. The report said losses from selling options may exceed the margin posted.
For brokers, venues and liquidity providers, the firms that supply prices, the launch adds a regulated competitor for EEA derivatives clients, and the RFQ format suggests liquidity providers could be asked to quote. According to the report, crypto is held by Ireland-based Payward Europe Solutions Limited under the Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation (MiCA), while the Cypriot firm provides the options.
The report said access is limited to eligible customers in EEA countries where Kraken offers derivatives. Kraken’s own options page says options are not available to US and EU residents, which conflicts with the report.
