Bitcoin ETF Options coming soon? SEC, CBOE make key moves

Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart reported that Options features are expected to be introduced to spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by the fourth quarter in the US. This comes in when BTC is dealing with some high fluctuations in the market.

Seyffart noted that the Bitcoin ETF Options rollout could begin as early as the third quarter as the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) final decision deadline looms around September 21. There are still more steps in the process that need to be checked by the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) and CFTC.

CBOE re-files Bitcoin ETF Option application

James Seyffart in a post highlighted that the three exchanges withdrew their applications to list spot Bitcoin ETF options. He added that the most prominent exchanges like the Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) are still on the list.

He reported that Bitcoin ETF options applications are making some moves as the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) withdrew its application. However, CBOE re-filed a brand new and updated application.

The ETF analyst mentioned that the CBOE’s original filing held only 15 pages, while, the new application holds 44 pages. This suggests that the SEC would have provided some feedback on the matter. Seyffart pointed out that one downside is that it will restart the clock and the deadline would move ahead to sometime around April 25, next year. He added that if the commission is engaging in this then the deadline might not matter.

UPDATE: There's definitely some movement on Bitcoin ETF options.

CBOE just withdrew their application for options on spot #Bitcoin ETFs. Which sounds like a bad thing at first… But at the same time they just re-filed a brand new and updated application https://t.co/L8qYTDXzPb pic.twitter.com/8BQG6JMROn

— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) August 8, 2024

Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, comments on the major developments in Bitcoin Options applications. He stated that the comments from the SEC were a good sign in the ETF approval odds and the latest update seems like a good sign in this case too.

BTC price jumps by 6%

Bitcoin has witnessed a week full of high fluctuations as its price dropped from the higher highs of $65,000 straight to the lows of $49,000 zones. Surging from the heavy dump, BTC reclaimed the $62K in Friday’s early hours.

Bitcoin price jumped by more than 6% in the last 24 hours, still printing a red box on the 7 days index. BTC is trading at an average price of $61,121, at press time. Its 24 hour trading volume is up by 6%, standing at $43 billion with a market cap of $1.2 trillion.

US spot BTC ETFs recorded $192.56 million in positive flows on August 8. BlackRock’s IBIT led the pack with $157.6 million in inflows, according to data from SoSoValue. WisdomTree’s BTCW also saw a spike as it recorded $118.52 million its largest inflow to date and over 10 times its previous record set on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Grayscale ETF GBTC had an outflow of $183 million.