SK Hynix options began trading on Tuesday, following the company's initial public offering (IPO) at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York on July 10, 2026 [1]. Despite a year-long rally in SK Hynix stock and a 20%-plus surge on Tuesday, the debut of its options was met with less enthusiasm than anticipated [1]. By midday, approximately 150,000 SK Hynix options had traded, with more calls than puts, but the most popular trade by volume was selling calls, indicating a bearish sentiment among traders [1]. The two largest trades involved a single trader selling over 2,200 of the 180-strike calls expiring July 17, generating about $2 million in premium [1].
Cboe offered five monthly expiries for SK Hynix options, covering July, August, September, December, and March 2027 [1]. While SK Hynix option volume surpassed the 110,000 contracts traded on the VanEck Semiconductor fund (SMH) and nearly doubled the volume in Sandisk or Marvell, it was less than a third of the 380,000 contracts traded in Micron and significantly below Nvidia's 2.3 million contracts [1]. The Roundhill memory ETF (DRAM), where SK Hynix is the third-largest holding, also saw higher volume than SK Hynix options [1].
The relatively muted call-buying activity was attributed to the rise of single-stock ETFs and leveraged funds tied to SK Hynix, which attracted significant speculative interest ahead of the company's U.S. listing and options debut [1]. Nearly a dozen ETF issuers filed for leveraged single-stock funds linked to SK Hynix, many of which began trading on the same day as the options [1]. The DRAM ETF, which now holds $23 billion in assets, has been particularly successful [1].
According to Scott Bauer, CEO of Prosper Trading Academy, the demand for leveraged ETFs—both double long and double short—may have diverted interest from the options market, but he anticipates a pickup in volume when weekly options are listed [1]. Notably, the top seven single trades by volume in SK Hynix options were all bearish [1].
CONCLUSION
SK Hynix's options debut was overshadowed by strong interest in leveraged ETFs and single-stock funds tied to the company, resulting in lower-than-expected options volume and a predominance of bearish trades. Market participants may shift focus back to options as new expiries are introduced, but for now, ETF products appear to be capturing much of the speculative demand.