Nasdaq and Cboe officially submitted applications to the SEC yesterday, seeking to trade options on Bitcoin (BTC) spot ETFs. Bloomberg analysts stated that spot ETF options could be approved as early as the end of February, but some members of the cryptocurrency industry are skeptical.
(Previous Summary: Bitcoin becomes the “ETF King” upon listing! Trading volume surpasses 99% index stock ETFs.)
(Supplementary Background: Bitcoin spot not stimulating enough? Over 15 “leverage ETFs” applications, analysts shocked: unprecedented.)
Table of Contents:
Analyst: Spot ETF options could be approved as early as the end of February
Attracting hedge funds to enter the market
Bitcoin ETF deviates from blockchain ideal
Shortly after the Bitcoin spot ETF was approved for listing by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on January 11, Nasdaq and Cboe submitted Form 19b-4 to the SEC on January 19, applying to trade options based on BTC spot ETFs.
According to a tweet by Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart earlier today (20), the SEC has acknowledged receiving proposals from both exchanges to trade Bitcoin spot ETF options. Nasdaq applied to list and trade BlackRock’s IBIT options, while Cboe requested to trade options for “ETPs holding Bitcoin,” with Cboe having listed six Bitcoin spot ETFs last week.
Seyffart stated that spot ETF options could potentially start trading as early as the end of February.
Catherine Clay, Executive Vice President of Cboe, stated in an interview with CNBC on January 18 that the logical next step for Bitcoin ETFs is to introduce options trading. She believes this will help increase the practicality of the product and reduce risks, but she admitted that it is difficult to know if the SEC will approve it.
Dave Nadig, an analyst at data firm VettaFi, commented on January 17:
Further reading:
How can Taiwanese investors purchase “Bitcoin spot ETFs”? Three-step tutorial
Since its listing, Bitcoin spot ETFs have rapidly developed. According to a report by CoinDesk on Friday, the total assets under management of Bitcoin spot ETFs have exceeded $27 billion, surpassing silver and becoming the second-largest ETF commodity asset category in the United States, second only to gold. However, some members of the cryptocurrency industry are concerned about the development of Bitcoin ETFs, claiming that ETFs may lead to further centralization of the cryptocurrency industry.
According to a report by Cointelegraph, Andy Bromberg, CEO of wallet developer Eco, stated that ETFs may lead to excessive influence from traditional financial institutions on the cryptocurrency market.
Lucas Henning, CTO of the Suku wallet development team, also criticized Bitcoin ETFs. Henning claims that ETFs will not be able to attract the public in the long term because most cryptocurrencies and protocols other than Bitcoin would not receive SEC approval to launch ETFs.
Related reports:
Bitcoin spot not stimulating enough? Over 15 “leverage ETFs” applications, analysts shocked: unprecedented
Singapore agrees with Taiwan “not allowing Bitcoin spot ETFs to be listed”: cryptocurrency is not a qualified asset
SEC Commissioner Crenshaw, who voted against, what are my reasons for opposing Bitcoin spot ETFs?