"Easing of options rules for U.S.-listed Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs seen as boosting institutional clout"

As rules governing options trading in spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) are eased, market participants are increasingly expecting the influence of those ETFs—and institutions, their primary buyer base—to grow further.

According to CoinDesk on the 23rd (Korea time), Nasdaq has scrapped a rule that had capped the number of contracts an individual investor can hold at 25,000 in options trading for Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. Nasdaq submitted the change earlier this month, and the revision took effect this week.

Options are derivatives that confer the right to buy or sell a specific asset at a predetermined price in the future. They are mainly used by institutional investors to manage risk or design return strategies. CoinDesk said the regulatory easing will allow large pools of capital and institutional investors to more actively hedge or manage ETF positions.

It added that options linked to BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF, IBIT, have already grown to a scale comparable to Deribit, a global crypto options exchange, and noted that with position limits removed, ETF options could also emerge as a key pillar of the Bitcoin derivatives market.