Which U.S. exchange launched the first listed options market in 1973?

The Chicago Board Options Exchange launched the first standardized, listed options market in 1973. Its opening transformed options from mostly private agreements into contracts traded on an organized exchange.

The exchange began with call options on 16 stocks, including well-known companies such as IBM and Xerox. Before then, standardized listed stock options were not widely available to ordinary market participants.

The organization later became Cboe Global Markets, while its main venue is known as the Cboe Options Exchange. It is often confused with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, which specializes in futures and other derivatives rather than being the original listed stock-options venue.