The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has requested additional time to consider allowing the trading of options linked to Ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs), as per a regulatory filing on February 7. The filing is a response to a request from Nasdaq ISE in July for authorization to list options contracts for BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA).
The decision deadline for the SEC is now set for April 2025, according to the filing. The proposed changes by Nasdaq would only be applicable to options on ETHA, which is the sole Ether ETF listed on Nasdaq’s digital exchange platform. Other Ether ETFs are listed on the New York Stock Exchange’s Arca or Cboe.
Establishing an options market for ETH ETFs is seen as a crucial move towards mainstream acceptance. Spot Ether ETFs, listed in July 2024, have managed to attract around $9 billion in net assets, data from The Block reveals.
Options are contracts that grant the holder the right to buy or sell—known as “call” or “put” in trading terminology—an underlying asset at a specific price. Options on spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs started trading in November, with options contracts on BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) seeing nearly $2 billion in total exposure on the first day of listing.
Investment managers anticipate that the expansion of cryptocurrency ETF options in the US will quicken institutional adoption and potentially unlock significant growth for coin holders. In September, the SEC approved Nasdaq’s electronic securities exchange to list options on IBIT, marking the first approval of options on spot BTC ETFs for US trading.
Subsequently, in November, both the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Options Clearing Corporation also approved BTC ETF options, removing the final barrier for exchanges to list these financial derivative products.
US President Donald Trump, who has pledged to transform the US into the “world’s crypto capital,” is appointing crypto-friendly leaders to oversee financial regulators. This move has been met with optimism in the industry for swift approvals of proposed crypto financial products.
