Market volatility in 2025 underscored a fundamental truth: Risk management is essential around the clock. Global participants increasingly utilized the overnight session to hedge against geopolitical shifts and macro data releases, tapping into the deep, continuous liquidity in our Equity options suite.

• Non-U.S. hours options ADV surged to a record 257K contracts (18% of total Equity options volume). E-mini S&P 500 options led the charge with 204K contracts traded daily outside U.S. hours.
• E-mini Nasdaq-100 options ADV reached a record 88,000 contracts, up 6% increase over 2024.
• Micro E-mini Equity options demonstrated significant growth in 2025, reaching a record ADV of 36K contracts, up 13% from 2024. 
• E-mini S&P 500 options ADV reached 1.4M contracts in 2025.

In a persistent high interest rate environment, Adjusted Interest Rate (AIR) Total Return futures became the primary tool for managing equity financing exposure in 2025. 

By the numbers: A record year

• 2025 ADV reached 27K contracts (+96% YoY).
• Open interest (OI) also averaged a record 901K contracts (+64% YoY) – representing $400B+ in notional exposure. OI crossed the 1M threshold on Sept. 11, 2025.
• AIR Total Return futures volume achieved a single-day record of 133,888 contracts on Dec. 12. 

About AIR TRFs: Available across the S&P 500, Nasdaq-100, Russell 2000 and the Dow, these contracts offer a listed alternative to OTC total return swaps. By mirroring swap economics on-exchange, they provide significant balance sheet optimization and mitigate the counterparty risks inherent in traditional bilateral agreements.

Amid high volatility from mega-cap tech concentration, institutional investors are leaning into Sector futures to fine-tune exposure and capitalize on sector rotation opportunities. Sector futures hit a record 517,425 contracts on Dec. 15 (up 51% vs. the previous record), as participants turned to our Sectors suite for portfolio tailoring and relative value trades for hedging and alpha generation. 

Performance and key drivers

• Key growth sectors: The strongest growth is centered in financial, consumer staples and energy sectors, with outsized trading also seen in materials and healthcare.
• Record volume and OI: Sector futures 2025 ADV reached a record 25K contracts,+22% vs. 2024. Average daily OI has also hit a record 313K contracts, +16% vs 2024 (over $38B notional value). 
• Embracing derived blocks:  Since inception, derived block trades have totaled over 2,300 large, privately negotiated transactions since inception, making up more than 1.4M contracts and exceeding $125B in notional value.

The 2025 narrative for Japanese equities was defined by a structural shift in global accessibility. As the Nikkei 225 reached historic levels, clients turned to our Nikkei futures as the critical bridge for international price discovery, providing a seamless venue for participants to manage Japanese equity exposure outside of local market hours.

• Around-the-clock trading: 70% of Nikkei 225 futures trades occurred outside of Tokyo hours. Global investors are tapping into Nikkei futures to bridge the timezone gap.
• Strong growth: The Nikkei 225 futures ADV was 51K contracts in Q4 2025, +17% vs Q3 2025.
• Micro-sized contracts, major volume milestone: Micro Nikkei 225 futures have traded a cumulative volume of 1.3M+ contracts since launch.

Spot-Quoted futures (SQF) allow active traders to trade at the spot price while accessing the capital efficiencies of traditional futures. By removing the friction of quarterly and monthly rolls, these smaller-sized contracts allow participants to manage exposure to eight major U.S. equity benchmarks and cryptocurrencies through a familiar spot-style quoting convention.

• Major volume growth: Launched in June 2025, SQF ADV surged from 53K contracts in Q3 to over 120K contracts in Q4, underscoring market demand for this low notional, easily accessible suite of futures.

Launched in late Q3, S&P 500 Month-End (SME) futures and options addressed a critical market need: the elimination of tracking error during month-end rebalancing. SME contracts expire to the closing value of the S&P 500 Index on the final business day of each month, aligning with the specific needs of clients who require month-end exposure management for financing or regulatory capital purposes.

• Strategically sized: With a $100 multiplier, the SME contracts are engineered to align with large-scale institutional portfolios, offering twice the notional exposure of the E-mini contract for streamlined execution.
• Zero-slippage execution: These contracts expire precisely to the S&P 500 official close, enabling portfolio managers to achieve seamless rebalancing via Basis Trade at Index Close (BTIC) functionality.

As tech concentration in the S&P 500 reached historic levels and the S&P 500 Equal Weight Index outperformed the S&P 500, market participants utilized E-mini S&P 500 Equal Weight futures to rebalance their exposure. This growing demand was highlighted by a record $2B notional single-day transaction executed via derived blocks on October 13, 2025.

• Record performance in 2025: E-mini S&P 500 Equal Weight futures achieved a record ADV of 890 contracts in 2025, marking a 63% increase compared to 2024. Additionally, average daily OI hit a record high of 11.3K contracts, up 41% from 2024.

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