Options trading on BlackRock’ s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) is expected to begin today on the Nasdaq, while options on the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF are expected to be launched on Wednesday. Options trading on other products is also expected to begin soon.
The trading of options on Bitcoin ETFs is a highly anticipated development that is expected to attract further institutional interest in cryptocurrencies. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved bitcoin ETF options on several exchanges in September.
Options trading involves the buying and selling of option contracts, which are financial derivatives that give the holder the right – but not the obligation – to buy or sell the underlying asset – in this case the bitcoin ETF – at a specified price over a predetermined time frame.
Bitwise Invest CEO Hunter Horsley confirmed in a post on X that they expect options on BITB to begin trading on Wednesday. Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart commented on BITB options trading, saying: “It looks like $BITB and I assume other Bitcoin ETFs will begin options trading on Wednesday.”
on Nov. 18, BlackRock’s IBIT ETF saw its highest inflow of $89.3 million, bringing total inflows to $29.37 billion, according to SoSoValue data. The Fidelity FBTC followed IBIT with inflows of $59.95 million, bringing total inflows to $10.83 billion.
Grayscale ETFs also saw inflows, with GBTC gaining $5.82 million and the Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF $54.39 million. Overall, Bitcoin-based ETFs saw a total net inflow of $255 million, with a total net asset value of $95.93 billion, representing 5.3 percent of Bitcoin’s total market value and a cumulative net inflow of $27.71 billion.
