A document from September 20 states that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has given Nasdaq permission to sell and trade options on BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT).
After being looked over since January 9, 2024, when Nasdaq first put forward its plan to trade options on exchange-traded products (ETPs), the plan was finally approved.
Nasdaq made several changes to its proposal starting on January 11. Over the next few months, it added more details about IBIT and other Bitcoin-based ETPs. The SEC finally gave its approval after almost eight months of review. Nasdaq also suggested changes to its rules to allow IBIT options to be listed and traded.
SEC Approves IBIT Options
According to the filing, the IBIT options will be physically settled with American-style exercise and will follow the rules for continued listing on the exchange.
After the SEC made its ruling, prominent individuals in the crypto community responded. “Ultra bullish” was how crypto trader Ash Crypto put it in a post on X .
Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF expert, also spoke about X. He said that this was an important victory for Bitcoin ETFs and that more approvals would come soon. It was made clear by Balchunas that this is only the first step in the approval process.
The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) still need to give their approvals before the official listing can happen.
The broader context for Bitcoin ETFs was emphasized by Balchunas that This will bring in more liquidity, which in turn will bring in larger institutional investors.
