The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved a proposed rule change to list and trade options on BlackRock’s spot bitcoin ETF, an order issued Sept. 20 shows.
On Jan. 9, Nasdaq ISE filed with the SEC “a proposed rule change to list and trade options on exchange-traded product (“ETP”) shares that represent interests in the iShares Bitcoin Trust,” according to the order. The commission approved the proposed rule change, as modified by certain amendments, “on an accelerated basis,” the order said.
The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, known by the ticker symbol IBIT, had net assets totaling $22.5 billion as of Sept. 20, according to BlackRock’s website.
“I’m assuming others will be approved in short order,” Bloomberg Intelligence Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas said in Sept. 20 comments on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter. “Huge win for the ... bitcoin ETFs.”
In his X comments, Balchunas said it’s a huge win “as it will attract more liquidity which will in turn attract more big fish.” He added that while the approval comes as a “nice surprise” timing-wise, it was “not a shocker” given that he and Bloomberg Intelligence ETF Research Analyst James Seyffart had previously predicted a 70% chance that the SEC would approve options on spot bitcoin ETFs by no later than May 2025.
Balchunas emphasized, however, that SEC approval is just one part of the process.
“There’s two other bodies that have to sign off, and we’re not totally sure on that timeline,” Balchunas said in a Sept. 23 interview, referring to the Options Clearing Corporation and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. “But I would say by May 2025 ... the odds are very high that we will have these trading and listed.”
He cited hedge funds, pension funds and endowments as among those most likely to use such options.
“When you have options on an ETF, it allows you to do more things, you know can hedge, you can ... target an outcome, you can play volatility,” Balchunas said in the interview. “Typically, retail, they just buy the ETF, but it’s the more professional crowd I think that’s going to utilize the options.”
A spokeswoman for Nasdaq, which owns Nasdaq ISE, confirmed the approval order but declined to comment further.
