MIAX Files SEC Rule Proposals for Binary Index and KPI Options

MIAX Options has submitted proposed rule filings to the SEC to list cash-settled binary index options — including contracts on its exclusively licensed Bloomberg equity indices — plus cash-settled binary options tied to company key performance indicators. The filings, announced by parent Miami International Holdings, mark the first step toward binary options on MIAX's SEC-registered exchanges. Subject to regulatory review and operational readiness, the index products are slated for a 2027 launch, clearing and settling at The Options Clearing Corporation.

What would the contracts do?

The binary index options let participants take a view on whether a broad-based benchmark — the Bloomberg 500 (B500) or Bloomberg 100 (B100) — finishes above or below a stated level at expiration. Payout is binary. Settlement is cash.

The KPI binary options work differently. They tie exposure to specific, objective performance metrics a public company reports in its SEC filings: revenue, earnings per share, or another disclosed operating figure, measured against a predetermined threshold. MIAX has not set a launch date for the KPI products. That timeline, the exchange said, depends on SEC review plus operational and clearing readiness.

Why is MIAX doing this?

CEO Thomas P. Gallagher framed the move as event-driven demand meeting MIAX's proprietary product buildout. "Investors increasingly want event-driven exposure, whether that's where a benchmark closes or whether a company hits a specified performance metric," Gallagher said. "We believe that pairing binary options contracts with our Bloomberg index franchise and with company-reported KPIs is an important initiative as we build out our proprietary product offerings."

Read that against strategy. MIAX licenses the Bloomberg indices exclusively. Binary options give the franchise a second product line beyond standard index options. The KPI contracts extend the same logic to single-company disclosure events.

What does the regulatory classification mean?

MIAX stressed that the SEC classifies binary options as security options. That places them under the same regulatory guidelines and customer protections as traditional U.S.-listed options, with what the company calls institutional-grade liquidity, clear market transparency and rigorous oversight.

That is the asserted part. What's mandated so far: nothing. These are proposed rule filings, now pending SEC review. The 2027 date for the index binaries is a plan, not an approval. The KPI timeline has no date at all. Desks should separate the filing — a real document before the Commission — from the launch, which requires sign-off, operational readiness and clearing arrangements at OCC before a single contract prints.

What changes for trading desks?

For now, nothing execution-side. No effective date, no compliance deadline, no contract specs. The actionable items are preparatory:

• Product planners: cash-settled, OCC-cleared binaries on B500 and B100 are a 2027 pipeline item, pending SEC approval.
• Options market makers: a new listed-binary structure in the U.S. listed-options regime would require pricing and risk models for fixed-payout contracts — different gamma and settlement mechanics than vanilla calls and puts.
• Buy-side event traders: KPI binaries would offer direct, exchange-listed exposure to reported metrics like revenue and EPS against thresholds, a listed alternative to OTC event structures.
• Clearing and technology teams: OCC clearing is planned for the index products; connectivity and margin treatment details will follow the Commission's review.

The filings now sit with the SEC, and the pace of the review, the KPI timeline and final contract specifications will determine whether MIAX's 2027 target holds.