Markets
Key Facts
—The launch. B3, Brazil’s main stock exchange in São Paulo, began trading options on Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana futures on July 6, 2026.
—The tickers. The three contracts trade under the codes BIT, ETR and SOL, independently, from 9am to 6.30pm local time.
—How they settle. The options exercise automatically at expiry into a position in the matching futures contract, not into the coin itself.
—The support. Designated market makers will quote both sides to keep the new contracts liquid and priced efficiently.
—The context. The move extends a crypto derivatives shelf that already includes Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana futures plus listed crypto funds.
Brazil’s main exchange has added crypto options to its shelf. Investors can now trade contracts on Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana futures inside a regulated venue.
The launch went live on July 6. It deepens one of Latin America’s most developed markets for digital-asset derivatives.
B3, the operator of the São Paulo exchange, said in its own announcement that the products broaden the ways traders can hedge, diversify and position in digital assets. The contracts carry the tickers BIT for Bitcoin, ETR for Ethereum and SOL for Solana.
Each trades on its own from nine in the morning to half past six in the evening. Market makers post continuous buy and sell quotes to keep pricing smooth and make entry and exit easy.
How the new crypto options work
These are options on futures, not on the coins directly, which is an important distinction. When a holder exercises one, they do not receive the coin.
Instead, they take on a long or short position in the matching futures contract at a set strike price. The appeal for a buyer is capped risk.
The most a buyer can lose is the premium paid upfront. So an option can be a cheaper, more controlled way to bet on a rise or fall than trading the future outright.
That flexibility is the selling point. Traders can seek exposure to a jump or a slump, protect existing positions, or combine strikes and expiries into more elaborate strategies, all within the exchange’s clearing system.
Another step in B3’s digital-asset push
The launch is the latest in a steady build-out. B3 already lists futures on all three coins and has offered options on Bitcoin, alongside a range of crypto funds that Brazilians can buy like ordinary shares.
The specifications for the new products were published earlier in 2026, and traders had been waiting for them to go live. The exchange frames the effort as connecting local investors to global market trends within its own regulated system.
There is a competitive backdrop too. A rival venue backed by former brokerage executives and international trading firms is preparing to launch a derivatives market, giving B3 reason to keep widening its own product range.
The wider strategy shows up in the company’s numbers. B3 rolled out about a dozen new indices and nearly twenty derivative products in the previous year, with crypto futures and Bitcoin options among the additions that fed a record quarterly profit.
Brazil has been an early mover in the region on regulated crypto. The exchange was among the first in Latin America to list crypto-backed funds.
Local investors can already reach the asset class through funds, depositary receipts and simple futures. The new options add a further layer to that toolkit.
They let investors fine-tune their exposure and hedge risk without ever touching the underlying coins. That pushes Brazil’s market a clear step closer to the depth seen in larger global venues.
Who are these crypto options aimed at?
The products are pitched at experienced traders, fund managers and treasuries that want digital-asset exposure with proper risk tools. For a foreign investor watching Brazil, they are another sign that the country is folding crypto into mainstream, regulated finance.
Can retail investors in Brazil use them?
In principle yes, through a brokerage with access to B3 derivatives. But these are complex instruments rather than a simple buy-and-hold product.
Anyone using them needs to understand margin, expiry and the leverage that futures carry.
Does this involve holding actual cryptocurrency?
Not at all, since the whole structure sits in the futures and options market. Users never take custody of Bitcoin, Ethereum or Solana.
That keeps the activity inside the exchange’s regulated clearing and settlement system.
Live Market IntelligenceCrypto — Live Market Board
Rio Times · Live Market Intelligence
Crypto — Live Market Board
-0.26%
| Instrument | Last | Change | YoY | Prev. | High | Low | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BTC | 63,384 | -0.26% | -47.24% | 63,552 | 64,346 | 63,305 | 22,774,743,040 |
| ETH | 1,886 | +0.26% | -58.90% | 1,881 | 1,920 | 1,879 | 7,916,475,392 |
| SOL | 75.89 | -0.40% | -60.44% | 76.20 | 76.99 | 75.39 | 1,473,821,056 |
| XRP | 1.01 | -1.15% | -69.07% | 1.02 | 1.02 | 1.01 | 1,144,044,416 |
| BNB | 609.60 | -1.12% | -26.81% | 616.50 | 619.30 | 609.23 | 1,266,706,432 |
| ADA | 0.18 | -1.98% | -78.22% | 0.19 | 0.19 | 0.18 | 238,085,632 |
| DOGE | 0.07 | -1.56% | -70.00% | 0.07 | 0.07 | 0.07 | 553,256,192 |
| AVAX | 6.38 | +1.04% | -74.11% | 6.32 | 6.42 | 6.21 | 248,470,560 |
| LINK | 8.77 | -0.06% | -62.73% | 8.77 | 8.87 | 8.68 | 317,054,880 |
| DOT | 0.78 | -0.75% | -81.11% | 0.79 | 0.80 | 0.78 | 43,490,492 |
| LTC | 45.08 | -0.85% | -65.45% | 45.47 | 45.59 | 44.98 | 143,727,712 |
| BCH | 213.85 | +0.10% | -65.44% | 213.64 | 215.69 | 212.54 | 137,956,688 |
| TRX | 0.34 | +0.28% | -4.73% | 0.33 | 0.34 | 0.33 | 436,576,064 |
| XLM | 0.16 | -1.33% | -64.46% | 0.16 | 0.16 | 0.16 | 89,559,864 |
| HBAR | 0.07 | -0.53% | -74.67% | 0.07 | 0.07 | 0.07 | 22,546,186 |
| NEAR | 1.65 | +2.42% | -40.55% | 1.62 | 1.68 | 1.61 | 187,591,264 |
| ATOM | 1.40 | -2.36% | -70.15% | 1.44 | 1.44 | 1.40 | 18,626,964 |
| AAVE | 89.06 | +0.93% | -72.33% | 88.24 | 90.20 | 88.19 | 129,099,704 |
Frequently Asked Questions
When did B3 launch crypto options and which assets are covered?
B3, Brazil's main stock exchange in São Paulo, began trading options on Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana futures on July 6, 2026. The three contracts trade under the tickers BIT, ETR and SOL respectively.
What happens when one of these crypto options is exercised at expiry?
The options exercise automatically at expiry into a position in the matching futures contract, not into the underlying coin itself. This makes them options on futures rather than direct options on the cryptocurrencies.
How will B3 ensure the new crypto options remain liquid and efficiently priced?
Designated market makers will quote both buy and sell sides continuously to keep the contracts liquid and priced efficiently. Trading runs from 9am to 6:30pm local time for each contract independently.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error
Read More from The Rio Times