The Chicago Board Options Exchange was founded in 1973.
The exchange was created by the Chicago Board of Trade to establish a centralized marketplace for standardized stock options. Before then, listed stock options were largely traded over the counter, with buyers and sellers negotiating contracts directly. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved the exchange project in 1971, and the organization was incorporated in 1972.
Trading began on April 26, 1973, in a former Chicago Board of Trade smoking lounge. CBOE became the first U.S. exchange devoted to standardized, exchange-traded stock options, helping make options more accessible and uniform. Its first listed contracts covered call options on 16 stocks.
A common mix-up is confusing the exchange with the much older Chicago Board of Trade, which dates to 1848. Another neighboring fact is that CBOE later became especially known for the VIX, a volatility index launched in 1993. The exchange is now part of Cboe Global Markets.