[NEWS] Nasdaq withdraws Bitcoin and Ethereum options trading

US stock exchange Nasdaq withdrew its listing and options trading for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) spot ETFs on the 15th.

The exchange withdrew the proposal on the 13th. It said it had not received any comments after the proposal was published in the Federal Register on the 12th.

The withdrawal notice follows similar actions by other exchanges in the past few days.

MIAX, MIAX Pearl, and BOX Exchange also withdrew their proposals to list and trade Bitcoin spot ETFs and options, respectively.

Cboe withdrew its application at one point, but then resubmitted it. It is continuing discussions with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the matter.

MYSE American LLC joined this chain of events on the 15th by withdrawing its proposal to list and trade options for the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF and Grayscale Bitcoin ETF.

The background to this is that the SEC has not yet approved trading of Bitcoin spot ETF and Ethereum spot ETF options products.

Contrary to the withdrawal of cryptocurrency options trading by each company, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seifert predicted that both Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange are likely to resubmit proposals to list and trade Bitcoin spot ETFs in the near future.

"As we have seen with Cboe, we expect to resubmit in the coming days or weeks," Seifert posted on X.

The withdrawal and resubmission of proposals suggests that it is time for a regulatory readjustment in the cryptocurrency ETF options market.

The success of cryptocurrency ETFs

Cryptocurrency spot ETFs are now booming. Not adding options trading to the mix would be considered a violation of investor protection.

BlackRock's Bitcoin spot ETF (iShares Bitcoin Trust = IBIT) has achieved $1 billion in inflows in a short period of time, and is currently at $21 billion.

The company's Ethereum spot ETF (iShares Ethereum ETF = ETHA) has already accumulated $901 million since its launch, and its net inflow is soon to reach $1 billion, the same as the Bitcoin spot ETF.

ETF Store CEO Nate Geraci is confident that ETHA will reach $1 billion in inflows and posted on X that it will be in the top six most successful ETFs this year.

At the same time as the success of cryptocurrency spot ETFs, options trading for risk hedging is also essential.

Options trading is essential for risk hedging, whether it's for stocks or various index futures. It is considered to be against consumer protection that it is not offered for cryptocurrency spot ETFs. That's why analysts like Seyfert expect the proposal to be resubmitted.

Reference: SEC filing
Image: Shutterstock

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