Cboe and S&P Dow Jones Indices Sign 25-Year Licensing Extension, Will Explore Tokenized Options

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• Cboe Global Markets and S&P Dow Jones Indices extended their exclusive licensing agreement for S&P 500 and other index options by 25 years, through 2051
• SPX options volume hit a record 970.6 million contracts in 2025, up 25% from the prior year, on a partnership between the two companies dating back to 1983
• Cboe and S&P DJI said they will jointly explore tokenized options contracts as part of the extended relationship

Cboe Global Markets and S&P Dow Jones Indices announced in a press release published on Cboe’s investor relations site on September 29, 2026 that they have signed a 25-year extension of their exclusive licensing agreement, keeping Cboe’s rights to list S&P 500 Index (SPX) and other S&P DJI-linked index options in place through 2051.

“This extension allows us to further grow our SPX and VIX franchises well into the future,” said Cboe chief executive Craig Donohue in the release. Catherine Clay, chief executive of S&P Dow Jones Indices, added that “investor demand for exposure to U.S. equities continues to accelerate, and we see a significant opportunity” in extending the relationship further.

The renewed deal builds on a partnership between the two companies that dates back to 1983, when Cboe first listed options tied to the S&P 500. That relationship has grown into one of the most heavily traded options franchises in the world: SPX options volume reached a record 970.6 million contracts in 2025, a 25% increase over 2024, according to figures cited in the release, as both institutional and retail investors have leaned more heavily on index options for hedging and income strategies.

Alongside the licensing extension, Cboe and S&P DJI said they plan to jointly explore tokenized options contracts, an early step toward bringing index-linked derivatives onto blockchain-based settlement rails. Neither company detailed a product timeline, structure, or which blockchain network might be involved, and the release characterized the tokenization work as exploratory rather than a committed product launch.

The move follows a broader pattern of traditional exchanges and index providers signaling interest in tokenized versions of conventional financial products, from tokenized equities to tokenized money-market funds, as regulators in the United States have grown more receptive to blockchain-based market infrastructure. A 25-year commitment between two of the most established names in U.S. derivatives markets gives that exploration a long runway, even if any tokenized product itself remains years away from launch.

The length of the extension is itself notable. Locking in exclusive rights through 2051 gives Cboe multi-decade certainty over its SPX and VIX-linked franchises at a moment when competing exchanges have periodically challenged aspects of that exclusivity in court, and it gives S&P Dow Jones Indices a long-term partner for distributing its benchmark indices into listed derivatives markets. For an industry watching how quickly tokenized market infrastructure moves from pilot to production, a formal commitment of this length from two incumbents signals that the underlying index-options business itself is expected to remain central to their strategy regardless of how the tokenization exploration ultimately plays out.