Original｜Odaily Planet Daily
Author: jk
On Tuesday, November 19th, local time in the United States, options trading for the spot Bitcoin ETF was officially launched on the Nasdaq, pushing the price of Bitcoin to a new historical high.
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) is the first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) to receive options approval, with a notional exposure of nearly $1.9 billion on the first day of trading. Earlier news came out that the ETF received options trading approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on September 20.
“The final tally for $IBIT’s first-day options trading was 354,000 contracts, with a notional exposure of nearly $1.9 billion. Of these, 289,000 were calls and 65,000 were puts, for a 4.4:1 ratio. These options trades are almost certainly one of the main reasons that drove Bitcoin prices to new highs today,” said James Seyffart, ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, on X.
His colleague, analyst Eric Balchunas, said, 'The $1.9 billion first-day trading volume is unprecedented. In comparison, BITO (ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF, which is a Bitcoin futures ETF) had a first-day trading volume of $363 million, and it has been around for four years. Additionally, the contract limit for IBIT options is 25,000. But even so, $1.9 billion is not considered 'massive,' for example, the trading volume of the gold ETF (GLD) today was $5 billion, but give it a few days or weeks, it may see further growth.'
He also said, 'Especially the C100 options expiring on December 20, which basically bets that the Bitcoin price will double within a month.'
According to data from Coingecko, Bitcoin reached an all-time high around noon local time, with a peak price of $94,040.
Bitcoin's performance over the past 24 hours. Source: Coingecko
Market Voices
According to The Block, market structure expert Dennis Dick expects that as spot Bitcoin ETF options trading rises, Bitcoin's volatility will actually decrease. 'As the number of open contracts increases, the market will naturally form buyers and sellers... this will increase market depth, improve liquidity, and thus reduce volatility,' Dick said.
ETF Store President Nate Geraci predicts a wave of new ETF applications. 'As I mentioned before, ETF applications based on Bitcoin options strategies are expected to increase,' Geraci said on social media. 'Including Bitcoin ETFs with covered call strategies, buffered Bitcoin ETFs, tail risk Bitcoin ETFs, convexity Bitcoin ETFs, etc.'
According to The Block, Grayscale quickly submitted an updated prospectus for a Bitcoin covered call ETF. The fund will provide exposure to GBTC and Bitcoin and generate income by purchasing options contracts on Bitcoin ETP.
'Grayscale is excited that GBTC and Bitcoin options trading is about to begin... further developing the ecosystem around our US-listed Bitcoin ETP,' said David LaValle, Global ETF Head of Grayscale Investments. 'The demand for Bitcoin ETP is unprecedented, and the Grayscale team is proud to offer a range of Bitcoin products that enhance investor choice, including low-cost Bitcoin ETPs, making exposure to Bitcoin and crypto asset classes more convenient.'
Bitwise and Grayscale's Bitcoin ETF options will begin trading tomorrow, and Odaily Planet Daily will continue to follow and report.
