Robert Mitchnick, head of digital assets at BlackRock, told a panel at the Benzinga Future of Digital Assets conference on Nov. 19 that options volume on the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF IBIT breached the 1 billion mark on Tuesday.
"Things happen fast here," Mitchnick said.
The Details: Nasdaq began listing options on BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF on Tuesday with 73,000 contracts traded in the first 90 minutes, ranking IBIT options among the top 20 most active non-index options.
BlackRock's IBIT is currently the only spot Bitcoin ETF listed on Nasdaq, but competitors listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Cboe Global Markets are expected to launch similar options trading in the coming days.
Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted that the volume was almost entirely calls, indicating a strong bullish sentiment in Bitcoin BTC/USD.
The derivatives market for traditional assets can often grow to be up to 20 times the size of the underlying asset’s market cap. If Bitcoin derivatives follow a similar trajectory, the listing of IBIT options could significantly expand the reach and functionality of Bitcoin-linked financial products.
"There's a ton of work to do to flesh out the investor opportunity and uptake around what we have," Mitchnick said.
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