MIAX exchange lists Bitcoin ETF options
2024-11-27

MIAX Sapphire Options Exchange submitted revised rules to start listing options on three Bitcoin BTCUSD exchange-traded funds (ETFs), according to a Nov. 25 regulatory filing.
The rule change permits MIAX Sapphire to list options on Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust (BTC), and Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB), the filing said.
MIAX Sapphire — part of Miami International Holdings’ collection of United States exchanges — joins giants including Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in listing options tied to spot BTC ETFs. 
MIAX Sapphire lists options on other commodity ETFs, including funds holding gold, silver, and platinum.
In September, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) greenlighted Nasdaq’s electronic securities exchange to list options on iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT). 
It was the first time the agency approved options on spot BTC ETFs for US trading. 
The SEC granted similar authorizations to two more exchanges, NYSE and Cboe, in October.
Then, in November, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) also greenlighted BTC ETF options, clearing the final hurdle for exchanges to list the financial derivative products. 
On Nov. 18, the first day of listing, options contracts on BlackRock’s IBIT saw almost $2 billion in total exposure. 
Options are contracts granting the right to buy or sell — “call” or “put” in trader parlance — an underlying asset at a certain price. In the US, if one party fails to uphold the agreement, the OCC intervenes and settles the trade. 


Investment managers expect the US debut of spot BTC ETF options to accelerate institutional adoption and potentially unlock “extraordinary upside” for BTC holders. 
Listing spot BTC ETF options on regulated US exchanges — where the OCC safeguards traders against counterparty risk — marks a “monumental advancement” in cryptocurrency markets and creates “extremely compelling opportunities” for investors, Jeff Park, Bitwise Invest’s head of alpha strategies, said in a Sept. 20 X post. 
Spot BTC ETFs listed in January and surpassed $100 billion in net assets in November.