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Almost half of all retail options trading now happens in contracts that expire the same day they’re purchased. Zero days to expiration options, known as 0DTE, have climbed to a record 48% of total retail options volume, according to data from Citadel Securities and GMI reported through Barchart.
The numbers behind the 0DTE explosion
For SPX options specifically, 0DTE contracts now represent roughly 59-65% of daily trading volume. That concentration has accelerated sharply since 2022, when Cboe expanded daily expirations for S&P 500 index options, essentially giving traders a fresh set of same-day contracts to play with every single trading session.
Overall US listed options average daily volume hit 60.4 million contracts in 2025. Of that total, 0DTE contracts made up approximately 24%.
Cboe’s own numbers tell the story even more clearly. Average daily volume for 0DTE SPX options reached record levels, contributing to 3.8 million contracts in Q3 2025 alone. Retail participation in the broader US options market has stabilized at 45-50% of total volume in recent years.
How we got here and why crypto traders should care
The roots of this trend trace back to the pandemic-era trading boom, when a generation of new investors discovered options through platforms like Robinhood. But the infrastructure that made 0DTE possible at scale came from Cboe’s decision to offer daily SPX expirations starting in 2022. Before that, same-day options trading was largely an accident of timing, happening only on expiration Fridays.
Now it’s a deliberate strategy. Traders use 0DTE contracts for intraday speculation, quick hedges around economic data releases, and what amounts to binary bets on market direction over a few hours.
What this means for investors and market structure
Industry observers have noted that despite fears about 0DTE trading amplifying volatility, actual market stress events have shown volumes stabilizing rather than spiraling. The gamma exposure from these contracts, meaning the hedging activity market makers must perform, has so far been manageable.
The risk that nobody talks about enough is path dependency. A 0DTE option can be theoretically correct on direction but still expire worthless because the move happened 30 minutes after expiration. Time decay on these contracts is brutal, accelerating through the trading day like a countdown timer strapped to your capital.
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