Nasdaq wants to let Bitcoin options run wild

Nasdaq Wants Bigger Limits for Bitcoin Options — Because Demand Is Exploding

Nasdaq’s International Securities Exchange (ISE) wants to turn up the heat on Bitcoin options. The exchange just asked regulators to raise the trading cap for BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) from 250,000 contracts all the way to 1 million.

And yes — this would be the second time this year they’ve asked for a major increase. The first time, they raised the limit by 10x. Now they want to push it even further.

According to Nasdaq ISE, the current limit just isn’t enough anymore. Big investors are piling into IBIT options, and the exchange says a higher cap is necessary to handle real demand and allow traders to run proper strategies.

IBIT vs. Deribit — The Battle for Bitcoin Options

Back in October, IBIT’s options open interest hit an unbelievable $50 billion. That puts it in the same ring as Deribit, the long-time king of crypto options.

Deribit hit its own record recently — about $50.27 billion in BTC options open interest, with 453,820 active contracts. The platform’s 2024 trading volume almost doubled, jumping 95% to more than $1.185 trillion, and most of that came from options trading.

Even with new regulated choices like IBIT gaining speed, Deribit still holds the biggest share of global Bitcoin options open interest. But interestingly, IBIT options now make up about 98% of all Bitcoin ETF options trading in the U.S., according to Bloomberg.

So while Deribit is still the giant in its category, IBIT is becoming the giant in the regulated category.

The SEC Has the Final Say

The SEC is now reviewing Nasdaq’s request. With how fast demand is climbing, it almost feels like regulators are just trying to keep up with the market.

If the trend continues, raising the cap might be the only way to stop Bitcoin options from smashing through the limits again.

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