The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the listing of options tied to key performance indicators (KPIs) for 23 listed crypto-related companies, including Coinbase, Robinhood and Mara.

On Oct. 15, blockchain outlet Coinpost reported that the product is structured so payouts are determined by whether preset KPIs exceed specified thresholds, rather than by the earnings release itself.

The approval covers contracts Cboe Global Markets seeks to list. Investors can take a yes-or-no position on whether metrics such as Coinbase trading volume, Robinhood customer numbers and revenue, and Mara bitcoin production exceed threshold levels. Cboe is pushing to list the contracts this month, and among brokerages serving retail investors, Robinhood is expected to be the first to offer the product.

The contracts are settled at expiry depending on whether the reference metric is above or below the preset level. If the prediction is correct, the payout is $1, and if it is wrong the contract expires with no payment. The reference figures are taken not from earnings materials but from metrics stated in disclosure filings companies submit to the SEC.

SEC Chairman Paul Atkins (폴 앳킨스) said the contracts are cash-settled standardized options and are listed and traded on securities exchanges in a form almost the same as existing non-binary standardized options. He added that securities exchange rules apply, including those governing customer accounts and margin, trading halts and market-maker designation, and that the contracts also receive investor protection under securities laws.

Trading will not begin immediately. A separate process remains, requiring Cboe Clear U.S., which will handle clearing, to obtain a provisional registration. Actual trading will be possible only after that process is completed.

The approval comes alongside issues involving expansion of prediction markets and division of regulatory jurisdiction. Many prediction market contracts have been designed as swaps and overseen by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). By contrast, the KPI-linked contracts are securities listed on an SEC-regulated options exchange. The legal framework differs from Kalshi's structure of offering event contracts under CFTC regulation.

Markets are also watching for the possibility of more related products. In September, five companies, including Kalshi, Bitnomial and ICE Futures, applied to the SEC for approval as securities futures exchanges. Jamie Selway (제이미 셀웨이), director of the SEC's Division of Trading and Markets, also said at a Securities Traders Association meeting on Oct. 14 that he expects at least four firms to start trading perpetual futures based on securities by year-end.

Amid this trend, the latest approval is leading to cases in which performance metrics of crypto-related stocks and financial platform companies are brought into the regulated market as new trading targets. The actual market launch depends on whether clearing approval is granted, making it the next key point to watch whether the listing timetable proceeds as planned this month.