Bitcoin ETF Options Launch, Offer New Hedging Opportunities for Investors

ETF options trading for BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) exchange-traded funds (ETF) launched on Nasdaq.

On November 14, ETF options trading for BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) exchange-traded funds (ETF) launched on Nasdaq, trading 73,000 contracts in the first hour and marking Bitcoin’s expanding derivatives market.

Bitcoin ETF options allow investors to speculate on Bitcoin’s erratic price fluctuation by buying or selling at predetermined prices within set deadlines. Bitcoin ETF options is a reminder how technology-driven solutions can transform complex systems, much like these financial instruments, reshaping Bitcoin’s derivatives market.

“Bitcoin has a really vibrant derivatives market, but in the United States, it’s still a small offering compared with other asset classes,” said Noelle Acheson, economist and author of Crypto is Macro Now, adding that an expanded derivatives market could calm Bitcoin’s wild price swings and diversify its investor class.

The ever-expanding ETF options trading shows signs of moving toward a more complex trading environment. It is part of what has already been highly active, considering the options markets on both the Invesco QQQ Trust and the Standard & Poor’s Depository Receipts (SPDR) S&P 500 ETF Trust.

The arrival of the IBIT is more likely to lead to the issuance of new funds linked to those options on ETFs.

“Grayscale has already filed for a covered call fund, and BlackRock will likely follow,” said Todd Sohn, ETF strategist at Strategas, “we’re going to see buffers and other trend-following strategies emerge, pushing the ecosystem into a new phase of growth.”

Expanding Bitcoin ETF Landscape

Since their inceptive month of January 2024, the spot bitcoin ETF with options has been wildly popular, with many market analysts referring to them as the most successful ETF launches ever. The Securities and Exchange Commission recently approved additional Bitcoin ETFs such as Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust and Bitwise Bitcoin ETF, with options for these funds expected to hit the market at any moment.

With options trading now available for the most active ETF, the market may experience increased liquidity and lower volatility, attracting more institutional and retail investors. As Sohn says, “The ecosystem’s really going to start to fly here.”

This emerging crop of financial products heralds a maturing Bitcoin market, one that equips traders with tools that might finally make it possible to contain the risks stemming from options on bitcoin ETF volatility.


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