The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the listing and options trading of the bitcoin exchange-traded fund. BLK from asset manager BlackRock.
Options trading for BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust fund has been approved under the ticker symbol “IBIT,” the regulator said in a statement Friday.
Index options — listed derivatives that offer a quick and inexpensive way to amplify exposure to bitcoin — on a bitcoin index would offer institutional investors and traders an alternative way to hedge their exposure to the world’s largest cryptocurrency.
The approval of a bitcoin ETF listing and trading options represents another positive step for cryptocurrencies, once considered a nascent asset class.
Cryptocurrencies have moved closer to mainstream acceptance since the launch of bitcoin ETFs earlier this year.
Options give holders the right to buy or sell an asset, such as a stock or exchange-traded commodity, at a predetermined price by a set date.
Exchanges began applying (link) for spot bitcoin ETF options as soon as it became clear that the SEC would approve the underlying ETFs in January.
The SEC oversees technical changes to the rules that exchanges must make to list options. The regulator also said that existing oversight procedures will apply to IBIT options.
