Options trading on spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), a development expected to attract more institutional interest to the crypto market, could begin as early as Tuesday, according to Nasdaq.
“Nasdaq aims to list and trade these options as soon as tomorrow,” said Alison Hennessy, head of ETP listings at Nasdaq, during an interview with Bloomberg TV. “We believe launching options on IBIT will excite investors, as this is a demand we’ve consistently heard from the market.”
Currently, there are 11 U.S.-based spot bitcoin ETFs, but only BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) is listed on Nasdaq and therefore eligible for options trading at this time.
Options are financial derivatives that provide investors with the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an asset — in this case, IBIT — at a specific price within a defined timeframe. These instruments are particularly attractive to traders for enabling leveraged directional bets and hedging strategies.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) granted approval for IBIT options in September, along with rule changes for the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Cboe Global Markets, which list other spot bitcoin ETFs.
Options for ETFs listed on other exchanges could also become available soon, according to James Seyffart, an ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “We expect these options to start trading this week, possibly within a day or two,” Seyffart said. “All regulatory and procedural requirements appear to be resolved — it’s just about finalizing the administrative details.”
Market participants widely anticipate that the availability of options will deepen institutional engagement in the crypto sector. However, the impact of options trading on price volatility, driven by leverage and hedging activities, remains uncertain.
