How to trade Perp Options on Bybit: step-by-step guide

Perp Options give you options exposure to traditional financial markets (equities, indices and ETFs) directly from your Bybit account. They are European-style, cash-settled in USDT, and available 24/7 through the same Unified Trading Account (UTA) you already use for crypto. This guide walks through the full process: finding the Perp Options interface, placing your first trade, understanding margin modes and knowing what happens when a contract expires.

Key Takeaways:

• Perp Options are accessed under TradFi > Perp Options in the Bybit app or web interface, with the launch of popular tickers including TSLA, NVDA and QQQ.

• Cross Margin pools your entire UTA balance as collateral, while Portfolio Margin lets hedged positions offset each other for greater capital efficiency.

• At expiry, in-the-money options are auto-exercised and settled in USDT; out-of-the-money options expire with no further action required.

Step 1: Navigate to Perp Options

Open the Bybit app or web platform and go to the TradFi section. From there, select the Perp Options tab. This sits alongside other TradFi products such as TradFi Perpetual Contracts and Stock CFDs, but uses its own dedicated interface built around an options chain layout.

Step 2: Choose a ticker

Perp Options launch with underlying TradFi perpetual contracts:

Select the ticker you want to trade. The interface will display the full options chain for that underlying, organized by expiry date and strike price.

Step 3: Select an expiry date and strike price

Perp Options offer multiple expiry windows: next-day, 3-day, 4-day, weekly, bi-weekly, tri-weekly and monthly. The expiry calendar automatically skips US non-trading days (weekends and public holidays), so every contract expires on a day when US equity markets are open.

Once you have chosen an expiry, the options chain displays available strike prices. Strikes are spaced dynamically based on the underlying's price level and how far the strike sits from the current market price, with tighter spacing near at-the-money levels and wider spacing further out.

Settlement timing: Contracts settle at the US market close: 20:00 UTC during daylight saving time or 21:00 UTC during standard time. The settlement price is calculated as a 30-minute TWAP (time-weighted average price) of the underlying index price leading up to expiry.

Step 4: Buy or sell calls and puts

With your ticker, expiry, and strike selected, you can place your order. Perp Options support both buying and selling:

• Buy a call if you expect the underlying to rise above the strike by expiry.

• Buy a put if you expect the underlying to fall below the strike by expiry.

• Sell a call or put to collect premium. Selling is fully supported, including naked options, which is not available on many traditional brokers.

You can also build multi-leg strategies such as spreads, straddles and strangles by combining multiple positions.

Contract sizing

Perp Options use a contract multiplier of 1, not the 100-share standard used by traditional brokers. This means each contract represents the equivalent of a single share of the underlying, significantly lowering the capital required to enter a position.

The minimum lot size for PerpOptions is 1 contract, regardless of the underlying price value. Fractional contracts are not supported. This differs from traditional options markets, which typically use a 100-share multiplier — PerpOptions use a contract multiplier of 1, reducing the entry threshold and enabling more precise position sizing.

Tick sizes are also dynamic: $0.001 for premiums below $0.50, $0.01 for premiums between $0.50 and $50, and $0.10 for premiums at $50 or above.

Step 5: Choose your margin mode

Perp Options are integrated into Bybit's UTA and support two margin modes:

Cross Margin

Your entire available UTA balance serves as collateral for all open positions. This is the simpler option: one shared margin pool covers everything. Cross Margin is straightforward for traders who want to manage a single balance without position-level margin calculations.

Portfolio Margin

Positions that offset each other's risk are recognized by the margin engine. If you hold a TradFi perpetual position alongside an options hedge in the same UTA, the combined risk is lower than each position individually, and your margin requirement reflects that. Portfolio Margin is designed for traders running multi-leg strategies, delta hedges, or combined perp-and-option portfolios where capital efficiency matters.

You can switch between margin modes in your UTA settings, subject to meeting the applicable requirements for Portfolio Margin and Isolated Margin eligibility.

Step 6: Understand what happens at expiry

Perp Options are European-style, meaning they can only be exercised at expiry, so there is no early assignment risk at any point during the contract's life. At expiry, the process is fully automatic:

• In-the-money (ITM) options are auto-exercised. The settlement amount is calculated based on the difference between the strike price and the TWAP settlement price, then credited to your UTA in USDT.

• Out-of-the-money (OTM) options expire worthless. No action is required and no further charges apply. For buyers, the maximum loss is the premium paid.

There is no physical delivery of the underlying perpetual contract. Everything is cash-settled in USDT.

Corporate actions

If the underlying stock undergoes a corporate action (such as a forward split, reverse split, or special dividend), Bybit automatically adjusts your option positions to preserve their value. Strike prices, quantities and average entry prices are recalculated so that the aggregate value of your position remains unchanged. No manual action is required. Regular quarterly dividends do not trigger adjustments, as they are already reflected in the forward pricing.

Fee structure

Perp Options fees are tiered by VIP and PRO levels, with separate maker and taker rates:

PRO tier users benefit from reduced rates, starting at 0.0250% maker / 0.0250% taker for PRO 1 and scaling down to 0.0050% maker / 0.0130% taker for PRO 6. Fees are calculated on the notional value of the trade and are independent from Bybit's crypto options fee schedule.

The bottom line

Trading Perp Options on Bybit follows a straightforward flow: navigate to TradFi, select Perp Options, pick your ticker and contract parameters and place your order. The product sits inside your existing UTA with full Cross Margin and Portfolio Margin support, settles automatically in USDT at expiry, and handles corporate actions without any manual intervention. Whether you are buying a single call on NVDA or building a multi-leg strategy across several tickers, the mechanics remain the same: choose your position, manage your margin, and let the settlement process handle the rest.

Ready to explore Options? Download the Bybit App on iOS or Android and start making your picks today.

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