Binary options are a relatively new type of trading instrument that are rapidly gaining popularity and growing exponentially. Binary options provide traders with the ability to make a high return by betting on the prices of stocks, commodities, currencies, and market indices without having to purchase the contract, dip heavily into financial exchanges and expose themselves to huge financial risks.

Binary options have been traded for many years, but have only recently gained general recognition and interest. In the past, binary options were called exotic options and were traded only by a select few in small private financial exchanges. If you wanted to trade these exotic options before 2008, you had to pay a private broker up front fees just to access the market for you, because there was no system in place for the independent traders or investors to partake in binary option transactions.

In 2008, after noticing that binary options were gaining popularity in Europe, the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) began listing them on its exchanges in the United States. For the first time, individuals could access these excellent trading instruments without having to go through an expensive broker. Later in 2008, the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) listed binary options after witnessing the success enjoyed by the OCC.

Today, the number of people trading binary options has grow exponentially. This growth will no doubt continue as more traders learn the benefits of trading this amazing instrument, and online brokers continue to offer individuals the ability to trade binary options using simple binary option software.
Traders would be well-advised to get on board with the new wave of binary options trading. The amount of control and precision offered by this instrument is unparalleled in the financial industry.