The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the listing and trading of equity options in BlackRock’s Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the Nasdaq.
In a Sept. 20 notice, the SEC Approved Options on the iShares Bitcoin Trust will begin trading on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol IBIT. According to Nasdaq, the exchange will allow options on the Bitcoin (BTC) ETF to trade in the “same manner” and under the same rules as other ETF options.
“IBIT's options will be physically settled through U.S.-style exercise,” the SEC notice states. “The exchanges noted that IBIT's options are subject to the exchanges' respective initial listing and continued listing standards. The exchanges' initial listing standards require, among other things, that the securities subject to the listed options 'be characterized by a substantial number of outstanding shares that are widely held and actively traded.'”
Source: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Will further approvals arrive?
At the time of writing, it is unclear whether the commission will approve the listing of options on the Spot BTC ETF and trading on other U.S. exchanges. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas Guessed X says more offers will be “approved in the short term.”
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“This is just one step in the approval process. The OCC [Office of the Comptroller of the Currency] and the CFTC [Commodity Futures Trading Commission] It also needs approval before it can officially list.” said “The other two don't have a 'time limit,' so we don't know when they'll be approved,” Balchunas said. “But it's a big step that the SEC agreed.”
On August 5, trading volume for the IBIT Bitcoin ETF exceeded $875 million, while the total for all spot BTC investment vehicles exceeded $1.3 billion. Nasdaq has also asked the SEC to allow options trading on the spot Ethereum ETF on its exchanges.
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This is a developing story and more information will be added as it becomes available.
