Nasdaq’s Wild Bitcoin Bet: Will It Crash or Conquer?

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Behold, the venerable Nasdaq’s International Securities Exchange (ISE) hath declared that Bitcoin options are the new bread and circuses of the financial world! 🐍💸

Summary

  • Nasdaq ISE, that most zealous of exchanges, now seeks to elevate the trading cap for BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) options from 250,000 to 1,000,000 contracts – a leap worthy of a circus acrobat! 🎪
  • Deribit, the reigning titan of crypto-options, hath shattered records with a staggering $50.27B in BTC options OI, 453,820 active contracts, and a 2024 trading volume that doubled – a feat as thrilling as a bear in a honey shop! 🐻🍯
  • The SEC, that ever-watchful guardian of the markets, now ponders the cap-increase request, while demand gallops like a wild stallion! 🐴

According to a regulatory filing, the ISE, with the audacity of a madman, desires to raise the trading limit for BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) from a meager 250,000 contracts to a cool 1,000,000 – a number so large, it makes the eyes water! 😭

This is Nasdaq’s second bold request for a larger trading cap, following a previous leap of 10-fold – a feat as impressive as a frog wearing a crown! 🦎👑

Nasdaq ISE, with the fervor of a prophet, argues that the limit increase is essential to satisfy the insatiable hunger of institutional investors and to enable trading strategies as cunning as a fox in a henhouse! 🦊

IBIT vs. Deribit

At its peak in October, IBIT’s options open interest reached a jaw-dropping $50 billion – a sum so vast, it could buy a small nation! 🇫🇷

Compare that to Deribit, that paragon of crypto-exchanges, which saw its Bitcoin (BTC) options open interest hit a new record of about $50.27 billion, with roughly 453,820 active BTC contracts – a number so large, it defies comprehension! 🤯

In 2024, Deribit, that relentless beast, nearly doubled its trading volume – surging 95% to more than $1.185 trillion – with options alone accounting for roughly $743 billion of that activity – a figure so colossal, it makes the stars themselves weep! 🌟

Even as regulated alternatives such as the options tied to IBIT gain traction, Deribit, that sly fox, continues to claim a dominant share of global BTC-options open interest. However, IBIT options now account for nearly all, or 98%, of the Bitcoin ETF options trading – a triumph as sweet as a sugar plum! 🍬

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), that eternal gatekeeper, is still considering the request, but at this rate, it might as well hand Bitcoin a megaphone and shout, “Go forth and multiply!” 📢🚀

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2025-11-29 01:41