NYSE, Cboe Win SEC Approval for Bitcoin ETF Options

The decision follows Nasdaq recently also getting permission for options on spot bitcoin ETFs in the U.S.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday approved stock exchange rule changes that will allow the listing of options tied to spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), expanding the investment ecosystem around products that have received billions of dollars of inflows this year.

NYSE will be permitted to list and trade options on the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust (BTC) and the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB), according to two memos from the SEC published Friday afternoon. Cboe Global Markets got approval to list and trade options on the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) and the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB).

The approval comes several weeks after the SEC approved Nasdaq's rule proposal to allow the listing and trading of options on BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT).

Options are derivatives that allow the purchase or sale of an underlying asset – in this case, bitcoin ETFs – at a predetermined price on or before an agreed upon date. Many market participants believe that options trading on bitcoin ETFs will increase institutional interest in crypto and increase overall liquidity.

In its NYSE approval, the SEC wrote that it believes options on the bitcoin ETFs "would permit hedging, and allow for more liquidity, better price efficiency, and less volatility with respect to the underlying Funds," as well as "enhance the transparency and efficiency of markets in these and correlated products."