A Sign Of 'Skyrocketing' Risk Appetite? One-Day Option Trades Explode In Popularity

According to the latest data, zero-day-to-expiration (0DTE) options hit record high volumes this week, a sign that “risk appetite is skyrocketing,” say market observers.

What Happened: On Thursday night, popular investment newsletter The Kobeissi Letter shared a chart on X, made by options research firm Tier1 Alpha, illustrating the sharp rise in zero-day-to-expiration (0DTE) S&P 500 option volumes in recent years.

The chart shows 0DTE volumes as a share of the total S&P 500 option volumes, touching a staggering new high of 67% on Tuesday this week, “an all-time high.”

Zero-day-to-expiration (0DTE) options are contracts on stocks or indexes that expire on the same day they are traded, making them a popular tool for short-term speculation and intraday strategies.

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The post highlights the growing popularity of these risky, ultra-short-term trading instruments, stating that their volume share has more than doubled over the past three years.

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During the first quarter of 2025, the average daily volumes of 0DTE options contracts exceeded 2 million, “for the first time in history,” it says. The post notes that average daily 0DTE volumes stood at just 400,000 in the first quarter of 2022, not 400 million (which is a typo), marking a fivefold increase over the past three years.

It ends by stating that “Risk appetite has completely flipped.”

Why It Matters: The Vice President of Derivatives Market Intelligence at CBOE Global Markets Inc. CBOE, Henry Schwartz, recently said during a Benzinga Webinar this week that 0DTE options tend to be priced appropriately for current market conditions. “The options market is a pretty efficient marketplace, things are generally priced right,” he said.

Others, such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM analysts, have expressed concerns that the rising popularity of 0DTE options could potentially exacerbate intraday market declines.

Photo Courtesy: Gsign76 On Shutterstock.com

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