In January, cryptocurrency enthusiasts hailed a milestone event when the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the purchase and sale of spot Bitcoin exchange traded funds (ETFs). With that, it was only a matter of time before U.S. regulators would permit the trade of derivatives of those funds.$BTC
And so, it came to pass: in November, market participants were able to trade options on spot Bitcoin ETFs from the likes of BlackRock, Fidelity, and ARK Invest. Thus, a range of option strategies from covered calls to protective puts were suddenly available for a variety of Bitcoin-tracking funds.
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Binance CEO Richard Teng commented on the effects of options trading on crypto markets, “Options trading is poised to enhance liquidity in the crypto ecosystem by providing investors with additional tools for hedging and speculation. Institutional players, who often seek sophisticated risk-management instruments, may find options particularly appealing. By offering new mechanisms to manage exposure, options trading could attract long-term capital, increasing market stability and broadening participation beyond retail investors.”
It’s exciting, sometimes useful to have more trading options, but this doesn’t guarantee a successful outcome or even a positive initial response from the markets. As it turns out, however, these newly available derivatives are largely a welcome addition to the arsenal of today’s sophisticated Bitcoin and Bitcoin-adjacent traders.
Starting Off with a Bang
The ability to trade Bitcoin itself on exchanges such as Binance, and then ETFs tracking Bitcoin’s price moves, represented important steps toward cryptocurrency adoption for both retail investors and institutions. This, though, begged the question of whether traders would line up to give the associated options a try.
The floodgates opened on Tuesday, November 18, when option trading commenced on the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (NASDAQ:IBIT). Thus, just as a BlackRock fund kicked off the spot Bitcoin ETF trading tidal wave in January, derivatives of the same fund opened a veritable Pandora’s Box of cryptocurrency derivatives trading.