SEC approves Nasdaq bitcoin index options

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved Nasdaq PHLX’s proposal to list and trade Nasdaq Bitcoin Index Options on May 22, according to an SEC order posted on the agency’s rulemaking site. The approval clears a federal securities-law hurdle for a new listed product tied to the price of bitcoin rather than to shares of a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund. Nasdaq PHLX first filed the proposal with the SEC on September 23, 2025, and the agency published it for comment on September 29, 2025, according to the original notice and the final order. The SEC later extended its review and opened proceedings to decide whether to approve or disapprove the rule change before granting accelerated approval to an amended filing dated May 15, 2026. ### What exactly did the SEC approve? The SEC’s May 22 order approved a proposed rule change by Nasdaq PHLX to list and trade “Nasdaq Bitcoin Index Options,” which the exchange described as a new index options product reflecting the price of bitcoin. The order appears on the SEC’s self-regulatory organization rulemaking page for file number SR-Phlx-2025-50. The September 2025 filing said the contracts would trade under the ticker “XBTX” and would be based on the CME CF Bitcoin Real Time Index, divided by 100. The filing also said the exchange would use a separate settlement methodology at expiration based on the CME CF Cryptocurrency Reference Rate - New York Variant, or BRRNY, also divided by 100. ### How are these options different from other bitcoin-linked products? The September filing framed the product as an index option, not an option on a single fund share. That distinction matters because the underlying reference is a bitcoin pricing index compiled from spot-market data rather than an exchange-traded fund listed on a stock exchange. Nasdaq said in its filing that the product would give retail and institutional investors a way to obtain a “precise price” for bitcoin through the listed options market. That structure offers exposure through an exchange-regulated derivatives contract instead of requiring direct ownership of bitcoin. ### Why did this take months? September 23, 2025, was the date of the original filing, and the SEC did not approve the proposal until May 22, 2026. The commission’s order says it designated a longer period for review on November 3, 2025, then instituted proceedings on December 23, 2025, to determine whether to approve or disapprove the proposal. March 20, 2026, brought another extension, according to the SEC record. The exchange then filed Amendment No. 1 on May 15, 2026, replacing the original filing in full before the commission granted accelerated approval a week later. ### What changed in the amended filing? May 15, 2026, was the date Nasdaq PHLX submitted Amendment No. 1, according to the SEC order. The commission said the amendment revised definitions including “CME CF Cryptocurrency Pricing Products Oversight Committee,” “current index value,” and “reporting authority,” and updated the description of how the product would be used. The SEC order also said the amendment changed minimum increment rule text and related justification. The order posted by the commission does not present the approval as immediate trading commencement; it approves the exchange rule change needed to list the contracts. ### When could trading start? May 22, 2026, is the date on the SEC approval order, but the documents reviewed do not specify a first trading day. Nasdaq PHLX typically must complete exchange-level launch steps after a rule approval before a new options product begins trading. The next public markers are likely to come from Nasdaq PHLX or the SEC rulemaking docket for SR-Phlx-2025-50. The SEC page for that file was last updated on May 22, 2026, and lists the approval order alongside the original notice, the proceedings order and the later extension notice.