- Nasdaq removed 25,000-contract limits on options tied to spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs.
- The rule change was filed on Jan. 7 and made effective immediately after the SEC waived the 30-day waiting period.
- The change affects ETFs from issuers including BlackRock, Fidelity, Bitwise, Grayscale, ARK/21Shares and VanEck.
- The SEC can suspend the change within 60 days and has opened a comment period with a final determination expected by late February.
- The move follows Nasdaq actions last year to list options on single-asset crypto ETFs and other steps to expand its crypto offerings.
Nasdaq filed a rule change on Jan. 7 that removes 25,000-contract position limits on options tied to spot Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds, and the change became effective this Wednesday after the SEC filing was posted and the Securities and Exchange Commission waived its standard 30-day waiting period. The exchange said the change aims to align crypto ETF options with rules for other commodity-based funds.
The removed limits apply to options linked to ETFs from issuers such as BlackRock, Fidelity, Bitwise, Grayscale, ARK/21Shares and VanEck. The SEC kept the authority to suspend the rule within 60 days if it chooses and has opened a comment period; a final decision is expected by late February unless further review is required.
Exchanges and regulators normally set options limits to reduce risks from concentrated positions and market manipulation. “[The change] would allow the exchange to treat digital assets in the same manner as all other options that qualify for listing,” the exchange said in its filing. The proposal says removing the cap would eliminate unequal treatment without compromising investor protection.
The filing follows Nasdaq approval late in 2025 to list options on single-asset crypto ETFs as commodity-based trusts, which permitted trading but left position and exercise limits in place. In November, Nasdaq also proposed raising limits on options tied to BlackRock‘s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and has pushed other crypto initiatives.
Nasdaq has broadened its crypto activity, including a move to unify crypto benchmarks with CME Group by rebranding the Nasdaq Crypto Index as the Nasdaq-CME Crypto Index and expanding tokenization efforts; its digital assets head, Matt Savarese, discussed those priorities in a CNBC interview. More about the exchange’s role can be found on the Nasdaq operator page. For editorial standards referenced in the original posting, see the editorial policy.
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