The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sanctioned the trading of options on exchange-traded funds based on the spot price of the leading cryptocurrency on the NYSE and CBOE.
The products in question include Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund, ARK21Shares Bitcoin ETF, Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF, Franklin Bitcoin ETF, VanEck Bitcoin Trust, WisdomTree Bitcoin Fund, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust BTC, Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust, Bitwise Bitcoin ETF, iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, and Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund.
Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas described the regulator’s decision as “not a big surprise, but still good news.” In September, the SEC approved the trading of options on spot Bitcoin ETFs on Nasdaq.
They approved same thing for Nasdaq recently so not a big surprise but still good news as SEC was big hurdle. We hearing good things about the rest of process altho exact timeline for listing date still unclear. https://t.co/N9squVSXfS
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) October 18, 2024
“Recently they approved the same for Nasdaq, so not a big surprise, but still good news as the SEC was a big hurdle. We have heard good news about the rest of the process, but the exact listing date remains unclear,” he wrote.
In August, Balchunas and his colleague James Seyffart predicted the launch of options on exchange-traded funds based on the leading cryptocurrency in the fourth quarter of 2024. They noted at the time that after the SEC’s approval, several more steps would be required from the OCC and the CFTC.
Back in January, the SEC approved all 11 applications for spot Bitcoin ETFs.
At the end of September, the regulator postponed its decision on options for Ethereum ETFs. The review period was extended until November 10.