This article was originally published in The Option Strategist Newsletter Volume 12, No. 9 on May 8, 2003.
The 30th anniversary of the Chicago Board Option Exchange (CBOE) occurred on April 26th. In some ways, it seems so short – hard to imagine that 30 years have passed since listed options began trading. In other ways, though, the market has evolved so much since then, that it seems like ancient history. Whichever viewpoint you have (or if both statements seem correct to you, at times), all can agree that the listing of options has been a magnificent success in that it has brought option trading to the masses – with 2.5 or 3 million contracts trading on most days.