Nasdaq Petitions SEC to Lift Bitcoin ETF Options Limits
The Nasdaq stock exchange has petitioned the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to lift position limits for options on Bitcoin ETFs. This move seeks to allow for greater participation and liquidity in the derivatives market for spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds. The petition is part of the ongoing integration of crypto products into traditional financial market structures.
- The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission made the rule change effective immediately by waiving the standard 30-day waiting period, though it can suspend the change within 60 days. A final decision is anticipated by the end of February following a public comment period. - This move standardizes the position limit for options on various Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs to 250,000 contracts, replacing the previous, more restrictive cap of 25,000 contracts. - The petition covers options for a wide range of spot crypto ETFs from major issuers, including BlackRock (IBIT), Fidelity (FBTC), Grayscale (GBTC), Bitwise (BITB), ARK 21Shares (ARKB), and VanEck. - This isn't the first increase; Nasdaq previously received SEC approval in July 2025 to raise the limit for BlackRock's IBIT options tenfold, from 25,000 to 250,000 contracts, due to high trading interest. - Nasdaq has a separate, more ambitious proposal from November 2025 seeking to further increase the position limit on BlackRock's IBIT options to as many as 1 million contracts, citing significant demand for hedging tools. - In its filing, Nasdaq argued that the change would allow crypto-related options to be treated in the same way as other commodity-based trust options, eliminating what it described as unequal treatment. - The approval for options on spot Bitcoin ETFs is a relatively recent development, with the SEC first giving exchanges like Cboe and NYSE American the green light in October 2024, following the initial approval of the spot ETFs themselves in January 2024.
