Nasdaq Asks SEC To Allow Options Trading On BlackRock's Spot Ethereum ETF

Nasdaq Asks SEC To Allow Options Trading On BlackRock’s Spot Ethereum ETF

Updated: 07 August 2024

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Nasdaq has asked US regulators to allow options trading on asset manager BlackRock’s spot Ethereum ETF (exchange-traded fund), a move that would help bring about the wider adoption of ETH ETFs.

BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) is the only Ethereum ETF listed on Nasdaq’s electronic options exchange. Other ETH ETF managers listed their funds on the New York Stock Exchange’s Arca or Cboe.

Options Trading Decision On BlackRock’s Ethereum ETF Likely In 2025

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not yet authorized options trading on spot Bitcoin ETFs since these investment products launched in January.

In July, the agency told several exchanges requesting to list options on spot BTC ETFs that it needed more time to make a decision.

Nasdaq and BlackRock's filing to add options on Ethereum ETFs has hit the SEC site. Final SEC decision on this from SEC likely to be around April 9th, 2025.

(SEC is not the only decision maker on adding options here. Also need signoff from OCC & CFTC) https://t.co/K4HunUPp7S pic.twitter.com/5kQH0mljTz

— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) August 6, 2024

Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart believes a decision on options trading on Ethereum ETF products will only be made next year. The final decision for the filing from the SEC is around April 9, 2025, Seyffart said.

He added that the SEC is not the only decision maker involved, and will also need a signoff from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC).

BlackRock Spot Ethereum ETF Leads In Inflows After Recent Market Crash

Options are a popular investment tool for hedge funds and financial planners because of their ability to safeguard against sharp market movements such as the 28% drop in ETH’s price on Aug. 5. Ethereum has since recovered to trade at $2,522.20 as of 4:15 a.m. EST.

Spot Ethereum ETF products also started the week with inflows. Collectively, these funds registered net inflows of $48.8 million on Aug. 5, according to data from Farside Investors. BlackRock’s ETHA accounted for the majority of the inflows, after $47.1 million entered the fund.

Similarly, VanEck’s ETHV and Fidelity’s FETH also recorded notable inflows. The data shows that $16.6 million and $16.2 million made its way to ETHV and FETH, respectively. Funds belonging to Grayscale, Franklin Templeton and Bitwise all recorded inflows as well.