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Options on updown are calls and puts on the biggest US stocks and ETFs, priced and cash-settled against each stock’s token on Robinhood Chain. You pay a premium up front, and at the close you are paid by how far the token finishes past your strike.
Options on updown are real-money trading. Losses are real, and the premium you pay is the most you can lose.

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Calls and puts

Each stock has two kinds of contract, named in the app by what you expect the price to do: A contract that finishes on the wrong side of its strike pays $0 and you lose the premium. The Volatile outlook buys a call and a put together (a straddle or strangle), so you profit from a big move either way. The Neutral outlook, which would sell a strangle, is labelled Coming soon.

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Key terms

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The stock token

Each stock’s token is backed by the company’s or ETF’s shares. One token is slightly more than one share, because dividends are reinvested into the token instead of paid out, so the “Shares per token” figure creeps up over time. The token trades around the clock in dollar pools on Robinhood Chain. The price on the options page, and the price your options settle at, come from those pools, so they can differ from the stock’s exchange price.

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Worked example

SPY is at 765.43.Youbuy∗∗1contract∗∗ofthe"Above765.43. You buy **1 contract** of the "Above 770” call for a **4.92∗∗premium.Yourbreak−evenis4.92** premium. Your break-even is 774.92.
  • Settles at 778.00∗∗→youreceive(778−770)×1=∗∗778.00** → you receive (778 − 770) × 1 = **8.00. Profit $3.08.
  • Settles at **772.00∗∗→youreceive772.00** → you receive 2.00. Loss $2.92.
  • Settles at **770.00orbelow∗∗→youreceive770.00 or below** → you receive 0. Loss $4.92, the premium.

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Expiries and hours

  • Two expiries are offered at a time: the next two regular-session closes that are more than 15 minutes away. During a session that is today’s close and the next session’s. After 3:45 PM ET, overnight, and at weekends, it is the next two sessions.
  • Expiry is the 4:00 PM ET close, or 1:00 PM ET on NYSE half-days. NYSE holidays are skipped.
  • Trading stops 15 minutes before each expiry. At 3:45 PM ET the same-day expiry disappears from the list and the chain rolls to the next close.
  • Options trade around the clock, every day. Overnight and at weekends you are buying the next session’s close.
Home labels same-day options “Options 0DTE · Expire in”, with a countdown to the close.

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Settlement

Settlement is automatic and cash. There is no exercise button.
  1. The settlement price is the average of the token’s on-chain price over the 5 minutes before the close. For regular tokens it is also checked to be within 0.5% of the real stock’s last price. Thin tokens settle on the on-chain average alone.
  2. In-the-money contracts are paid (settlement − strike) or (strike − settlement), times contracts, straight to your wallet in USDG. Out-of-the-money contracts expire worthless.
  3. The settlement job runs every 5 minutes, so expect the payout within minutes of the close.
Refunds. If no final price can be established within 6 hours of expiry, the position is marked void and your premium is refunded. It shows in history as “Refund · no settlement price, premium refunded”.

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How options differ from interval markets

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Selling back

You can sell any contract at its current bid at any time until 15 minutes before its expiry. See Positions & settlement.