Options Insider Special Events

Event contracts and digital asset derivatives are emerging under CFTC oversight, while listed options and ETFs remain SEC-regulated. Meanwhile, some platforms are offering both. This panel will examine: • The SEC and CFTC frameworks and their implications for innovation. • Whether event contracts should be viewed as gaming, financial hedging, or a hybrid. • How crypto-linked options and ETFs fit into the regulatory patchwork. • What market participants need to prepare for as regulatory convergence (or conflict) plays out.

Moderator: The Honorable Dawn D. Stump, Principal, Stump Strategic

Panelists:

• JJ Kinahan, Senior Vice President, Head of Retail Expansion and Alternative Investment Products, Cboe Global Markets
• Ryan Jachym, Global Head of Markets Policy in the Office of Government and Regulatory Affairs, Goldman Sachs
• Summer Mersinger, Chief Executive Officer, Blockchain Association
• Thomas Plummer, Prediction Markets, Jump Trading

This panel is proudly sponsored by State Street Investment Management

Institutions are increasingly using derivative-based ETFs and FLEX Options as complementary tools to achieve precise risk-return outcomes. This panel will explore how products such as buffer and target outcome ETFs, hedged equity structures, and single-name/high-payout ETFs are reshaping institutional allocation models — and how FLEX Options provide the customization needed to support these strategies.

Moderator: Sara Levin, Managing Director, ETF and Derivative Trading, WallachBeth Capital

Panelists:

• Sean Truett, Senior Vice President of Strategy & Business Development, Box Options Market LLC
• Geoff Gaiss, Vice President Global Derivatives, TRAFiX Burke Ashenden, Head of Capital Markets & Institutional Strategy, Innovator
• James Maund, Head of Capital Markets, Krane Shares

This panel is proudly sponsored by BofA Securities.

By the Power of Grayskull, we're finally doing it!

In this special spoiler-filled episode, Mark Longo, Mark Sebastian, and Uncle Mike Tosaw journey back to Eternia to break down the new Masters of the Universe movie. From Skeletor, Trap Jaw, Battle Cat, and Man-At-Arms to Orko, She-Ra, and the future of the franchise, the gang dives deep into everything they loved, what surprised them, and where the story could go next.

Did the filmmakers finally deliver the He-Man movie fans have been waiting nearly 40 years to see? How does it compare to the infamous 1987 Dolph Lundgren film? What worked, what didn't, and what characters need to appear in the sequel?

Grab your Power Sword and join us for the ultimate Masters of the Universe discussion.

• First impressions of the new Masters of the Universe film
• Skeletor, Trap Jaw, Battle Cat and Beast Man breakdown
• The return of Eternia and Castle Grayskull
• Favorite characters and standout scenes
• Orko, She-Ra and the post-credit reveals
• What we want from a potential sequel
• Why this movie resonated with longtime He-Man fans

⚠️ Full spoilers throughout this episode.

The prospect of 24/7 trading for U.S. listed options is no longer a thought experiment—it's an industry conversation already underway. But turning the lights on around the clock is not as simple as flipping a switch. It requires rethinking clearing, collateral, and risk management frameworks; redefining the trading day itself; and ensuring that liquidity, market depth, and investor protections hold up during non-traditional hours.

Moderator: Aniceto Solares, Principal, Regulatory Policy, OCC Panelists:

• Dave Barrett, Head of U.S. Options, Nasdaq
• Kevin Tyrrell, Vice President, Head of Markets, NYSE: ICE
• Alicia Crighton, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs
• Adam Leaman, Chief Commercial Officer, Zerohash

This panel is proudly sponsored by BofA Securities.

Instead of siloed perspectives, this session pairs buyside and sellside leaders to tackle pressing industry questions collaboratively: • Which trends will shape the next 12–24 months? • How are vendors and exchanges prioritizing innovation? • What role can buyside firms play in shaping product development and liquidity frameworks?

Moderator: Ivan Brown, Head of Options, IEX Panelists:

• John Ruby, Trader, Jane Street
• Andy Hicks, Option Strategist, BlackRock
• Tommy Martin, Chief Strategy Officer, DASH Financial Technologies
• Anthony Denier, Group President and U.S. Chief Executive Officer, Webull

This panel is proudly sponsored by BofA Securities.

Volatility has moved beyond a pricing input to become a tradable, investable asset class. This panel will explore how options professionals are harnessing volatility for trading, hedging, and portfolio diversification, with insights into the latest products, strategies, and market trends.

Moderator: Steve Sosnick, Chief Strategist, Interactive Brokers

Panelists:

• Ben Londergan, Managing Director Strategic Business Development, Simplex Trading
• Kevin McCarthy, Managing Director and Head of Market Maker Financing and Clearing , Wells Fargo Securities
• Nate Pomeroy, Principal, Wolverine Trading Technologies

This panel is proudly sponsored by Clear Street.

The options market is entering a new era. Quantitative strategies are no longer confined to institutional desks — they're being deployed by a new class of self-taught, tech-enabled participants leveraging data analytics, APIs, and algorithmic execution. This panel explores how this shift is reshaping intermediation, liquidity, and education.

Moderator: Jermal Chandler, Head of Options Strategy, tastylive

Panelists:

• Jessica Inskip, Director of Investor Research, Stockbroker.com
• Brent Kochuba, Founder, SpotGamma
• Steve Quirk, Chief Brokerage Officer, Robinhood

This panel is proudly sponsored by Theta Data.

The options tape is noisy. Intraday volatility cycles, 0DTE reflexes, ETF-driven options growth, and increasingly granular expiration schedules are reshaping how liquidity forms, migrates, and occasionally disappears. This session examines where activity is truly concentrating across index and single-stock products, including the continued expansion of daily expirations into select equities, and how that evolution is influencing spreads, hedging behavior, market-maker capacity, and risk transfer.

Panelists will explore how product design is steering flow through defined outcome ETFs, single-stock ETFs, cash-settled index expansion, and targeted daily expirations and discuss what these structural shifts imply for market stability, education, and liquidity quality over the next 12–24 months.

Moderator: Henry Schwartz, Vice President, Market Intelligence, Cboe Global Markets

Panelists:

• Annabelle Baldwin, Chief Revenue Officer, SpiderRock
• Shelly Brown, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer, MIAX
• Geralyn Endo, Head of Options Business Development, MEMX

This panel is proudly sponsored by OCC.

Fireside Chat with SEC Director of Trading and Markets Jamie Selway Moderated by OCC Chairman Stephen Luparello Director Selway will open with prepared remarks followed by a moderated Q&A conversation exploring the issues and opportunities shaping today's options markets.

The 44th Annual Options Industry Conference kicks off from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Mark Benzaquen and Mat Cashman welcome attendees, highlight record attendance and the evolving options landscape, and set the stage for the week ahead.

The opening session concludes with welcome remarks from OCC Chief Operating Officer Dan Busby as OIC 2026 officially gets underway.