The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has postponed its decision on allowing options trading for BlackRock and Bitwise’s spot Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) until mid-November, as revealed in filings dated September 24.
The new deadlines for BlackRock and Bitwise are November 10 and November 11, respectively. The SEC indicated that it requires additional time to review the proposals, extending the initial 45-day review period for BlackRock, which would have concluded on September 26. This extension follows Nasdaq's filing for a rule change for the iShares Ethereum Trust ETF on July 22.
A similar rationale was applied to Bitwise’s ETHW, resulting in its decision date being pushed to November 11, as the proposed rule change was submitted just one day after BlackRock's.
The SEC's decision follows the recent approval for options trading on BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which was granted last week. This approval has been characterized as a significant development for bitcoin ETFs, according to industry analysts.
Bloomberg’s senior ETF trading analyst Eric Balchunas described this as a “huge win” for Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs, noting that it would attract more liquidity and draw in larger institutional investors.
Matthew Sigel, head of digital assets research at VanEck, referenced a report from K33 Research on September 24, which indicated that Bitcoin’s derivatives market is 279 times smaller than those for equities and commodities.
Between September 1 and September 22, the options volume for Bitcoin and crypto market traded on the top five centralized crypto exchanges reached approximately $33.3 billion. In contrast, Ethereum’s options volume during the same timeframe totaled just $9.2 billion, making it more than three times smaller than Bitcoin's. This suggests that Ethereum ETFs have significant potential for growth now that options trading has been introduced by the SEC.
In addition to BlackRock's proposals, the SEC has postponed its decision regarding NYSE American’s plan to list and trade options on Bitwise’s spot Ethereum ETFs, which include the Grayscale Ethereum Trust and the Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust. The new deadline for this ruling is set for November 11.
On August 6, the Nasdaq International Securities Exchange submitted a proposal for options on BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), aiming to streamline access to Ethereum ETFs for both retail and institutional investors. The proposal highlighted that these shares are designed to simplify the complexities and operational challenges typically associated with direct investments in ether.
Despite these advancements, the nine spot Ethereum ETFs have encountered difficulties, with total outflows exceeding $624 million since their launch on July 23. In contrast, BlackRock’s ETHA has attracted significant investments, boasting net assets of around $977 million and accumulating $1.10 billion in net inflows, the highest among its competitors, according to SoSoValue.
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