The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the NYSE and CBOE's bid to list options on a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund.
In two statements, the SEC gave approval to the proposed rule changes and cleared the way for options. The proposed options are associated with Bitcoin ETFs offered by Fidelity, Grayscale, VanEck and others.
Both proposed rule changes were approved “on an accelerated basis,” according to the notice. The move mirrored the language used when Nasdaq approved the IBIT option in September.
read more: SEC approves BTC ETF option to 'attract bigger fish'
Speculation about the success of the option proposal began immediately after the approval of the Spot ETF. The issue appeared to be in doubt this summer when reports surfaced that the New York Stock Exchange had withdrawn proposed rule changes. As expected, the SEC asked for more time to review the product as the process progressed.
With this approval, the SEC continues to expand market access for cryptocurrency-related financial products on major exchanges. As previously reported, spot ETFs for both Bitcoin and Ether have been approved so far in 2024.
It remains to be seen whether today's approval signals a broader regulatory shake-up in the United States. The SEC has been a frequent target of industry criticism, and its chairman, Gary Gensler, has faced continued disdain from one of the U.S. presidential candidates, Republican Donald Trump, and if he wins in November. He has promised to remove him from office.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at around $68,400 on Coinbase, up more than 1% on the day, according to TradingView data.
Start your day with the best cryptocurrency insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to Empire Newsletter.
Join Ben Strack, Casey Wagner, and Felix Jauvin as we explore the increasingly important intersection between cryptocurrencies, macroeconomics, policy, and finance. Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter.
Get alpha information including market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates and more straight to your inbox with the 0xResearch newsletter.
The Lightspeed newsletter delivers all things Solana to your inbox daily. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.
