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The rising volume of options, including zero-day-to-expiration (0DTE) options, was one of the many topics discussed at the Benzinga Fintech Day & Awards 2025 in New York on Nov. 10, 2025.
Options experts shared how retail investors are becoming more educated and why it’s essential to keep an eye on options flow even if you don’t trade them.
Options Volume Soars
With the options market evolving from calls and puts to new types of trades that can be done for income, leverage, and hedging, options volume has exploded.
Mat Cashman of The Options Industry Council said the number of contracts cleared in 2025 is absurd compared to 10 years ago. Cashman said the challenge is to continue to evolve in the industry.
One of the strengths shown in the volume’s growth has been the ecosystem’s ability to operate safely and stably even with rising volumes, Cashman told the audience.
SpotGamma founder Brent Kochuba said the options volume growth makes looking at options flow even more important today than it was years ago. “What’s happening now is the flows are so dominant.”
Kochuba said options markets can inform people of what is likely to happen, including events like the government shutdown ending, CPI data prints and earnings calls. “The options market is a prediction market.”
The SpotGamma founder said that even if you don’t trade options, you have to watch the options market to get a sense of what the flows mean.
“That can be really informative to traders.”
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Rise Of Retail Traders, 0DTE Options
Anthony Rousseau of TradeStation highlighted the lower cost of participating in the options market, which has increased the number of retail investors participating.
Rousseau said it’s not just about lower costs, but also about increased technology and tools for retail investors to tackle the options market and gain an edge.
Cashman said 2020 saw not only the rise of retail investors buying options, but also everyday investors becoming more educated, learning about how flows work and trading strategies like leverage.
“The retail trader learns by doing,” Cashman said.
The rise of 0DTE was another topic covered by the panel, with Kochuba noting that short-term options create many strategies for investors.
0DTEs also offer more hedging options and ways to bet on market rallies, Kochuba added.
Rousseau used the analogy of surfing, with each wave being different, to describe the market. “Every day in the market is different.”
Rousseau said investors need to know how quickly they receive information when considering their options strategies. With 0DTE, investors need to have their strategies in place quickly.
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