Nasdaq is pushing to quadruple the options limits on IBIT, bringing BlackRock’s ETF in line with tech giants.
The Nasdaq International Securities Exchange has submitted a formal request to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to increase the position limits on options for BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF, the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), raising them from 250,000 to 1 million contracts.
Position limits exist to prevent a single investor from controlling an excessive number of option contracts on the same security, thereby reducing the risk of market manipulation that could affect prices.
The request, filed on November 13, stems from the growing demand for IBIT reported by Nasdaq. According to the exchange, keeping lower limits would hinder trading activity and investor strategies, such as the use of effective hedging tools or income-generation strategies.
Vincent Liu, chief investment officer at quantitative trading firm Kronos Research, told Cointelegraph that the SEC will likely approve the proposal, calling these adjustments “routine once an asset proves it can handle real volume.” Liu expects the approval to lead to deeper order books, tighter spreads, and a more efficient options market.
Bitcoin analyst Adam Livingston noted that Nasdaq’s initiative places IBIT in the same category as “the world’s largest and most liquid stocks,” such as tech giants Apple and Microsoft.
This is not the first time Nasdaq has intervened on IBIT’s limits: last July it raised the cap from 25,000 to 250,000 contracts, thanks to trading volumes well above the minimum threshold of 100 million shares.
Liu described Nasdaq’s move as a sign that “Bitcoin markets are moving out of the learning phase.”
“This is a clear signal that crypto derivatives are shifting from niche to necessary,” Liu added, predicting that higher limits could spark short-term volatility followed by increased liquidity.
According to Livingston, this is “the moment every banker secretly feared.” “This is where Bitcoin stops being that weird decentralized experiment and becomes a fully regulated and weaponized asset class with institutional-grade derivatives depth,” the analyst said.
“You don’t scale options by 40× unless you know demand is about to detonate.” Livingston concluded.
