SEC delays decision on options trading for BlackRock and Bitwise spot Ethereum ETFs

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The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed its determination to let options trading for BlackRock and Bitwise’s spot Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) until mid-November, according to Sept. 24 filings.

The caller deadlines for BlackRock and Bitwise are Nov. 10 and Nov. 11, respectively. The SEC stated it needed much clip to see the connection and extended the archetypal 45-day reappraisal play that would person ended connected Sept. 26 for BlackRock since Nasdaq filed for the regularisation alteration for the iShares Ethereum Trust ETF connected July 22.

The aforesaid reasoning was applied to Bitwise’s ETHW, which had its determination day delayed to Nov. 11 since the projected regularisation alteration was filed 1 time aft BlackRock’s.

Options are a large woody for crypto ETFs

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) received clearance for options trading from the SEC connected Sept. 20.

Bloomberg elder ETF expert Eric Balchunas said this was a “huge win” for Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs, arsenic it volition pull much liquidity and, consequently, much “big fish.”

Matthew Sigel, caput of integer assets probe astatine VanEck, besides shared a study by K33 Research connected Sept. 24, which highlighted that Bitcoin’s derivatives marketplace is 279x smaller than its equity and commodity counterparts.

Notably, the Bitcoin options measurement traded connected the apical 5 centralized crypto exchanges was equivalent to astir $33.3 cardinal betwixt Sept. 1 and Sept. 22.

Meanwhile, Ethereum options’ measurement successful the aforesaid play amounted to conscionable $9.2 billion, implicit 3 times smaller than Bitcoin’s. Thus, Ethereum ETFs person adjacent much country for maturation with the summation of options trading by the SEC.

The station SEC delays determination connected options trading for BlackRock and Bitwise spot Ethereum ETFs appeared archetypal connected CryptoSlate.

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