BTC/USD: Bitcoin Jumps as BlackRock’s Spot BTC ETF Readies to Start Options Trading

iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), worth some $42 billion, is preparing for clearance and settlement of Bitcoin options trading.

• Bitcoin prices BTCUSD shot up to levels above $92,000 from a Monday low of $89,300 a piece as crypto traders eye an exciting event. On Tuesday, the largest US exchange-traded fund that holds genuine Bitcoin will start trading options. BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF — iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) — is expected to kick off its options trading after the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) updated its documentation on Monday.
• Following months of regulatory work, BlackRock’s $42 billion BTC ETF will list options for traders seeking one more way to get exposure to the original cryptocurrency. “Our intent at Nasdaq is to list and trade these options as early as tomorrow,” Nasdaq’s Head of ETP Listings Alison Hennessy said on Monday. “Getting these options listed on IBIT into the market will be very exciting for investors.”
• What are options on Bitcoin ETFs? Options trading bolsters Bitcoin ETFs and improves the liquidity, which could be seen as a promising move to rein in the coin’s wild fluctuations day in and day out. It’s also a great way to assess demand from institutions and capture overall market dynamics and activity. More broadly, options ETFs help expand cryptocurrency adoption by making Bitcoin ETFs more appealing to newcomers.