(Bloomberg) -- The first options wagers on BlackRock Inc.’s $44 billion iShares Bitcoin Trust suggest traders see scope for the token to break more records.
More than 350,000 contracts changed hands after Nasdaq Inc. listed them on Tuesday, and about 80% were bullish bets, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Nine out of the 10 most-traded options wagered on gains. The highest activity was in calls expiring in January with a $55 strike, followed by December expiry at $65 — 25% above the exchange-traded fund’s closing price on Monday.
Bitcoin hit an all-time peak of $94,032 alongside the debut of the contracts. Some investors expect US Bitcoin ETF options to woo more inflows to the digital asset, which surged after crypto cheerleader Donald Trump won the US election.
The options volume was a “good start, demonstrating growing links between the crypto-native ecosystem and the traditional finance world,” said Caroline Mauron, co-founder of Orbit Markets, a provider of liquidity for crypto derivatives. “The volume itself is not large enough yet to drive the direction of the underlying, but positive headlines certainly contributed to a bullish mood.”
ETF Demand
The iShares Bitcoin Trust is the largest portfolio for the token and one of 12 US spot-Bitcoin ETFs. The group has attracted a net inflow of about $29 billion since going live in January, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Roughly $5 billion of the deluge materialized in the period after Election Day on Nov. 5.
Trump has vowed to create a supportive US regulatory framework for digital assets and set up a strategic Bitcoin stockpile. The timeline for implementation of his promises and the feasibility of the Bitcoin reserve remain uncertain.
To date, non-US platforms such as Binance and Deribit have accounted for big chunks of crypto derivatives trading. But record high open interest — or outstanding contracts — for futures hosted by Chicago-based CME Group Inc. point to growing US institutional appetite for regulated crypto exposure.
“Bitcoin has a lively derivatives market, but in the US it is still tiny compared to other asset classes, and is largely limited to institutional players,” wrote Noelle Acheson, author of the Crypto Is Macro Now newsletter. A deeper US crypto derivatives market will bring in new investor cohorts and enable a greater variety of investment strategies, she added.
Bitcoin traded at $92,631 as of 6:36 a.m. in London on Wednesday. The largest digital token has more than doubled this year, lifting the value of the crypto market overall past its pandemic-era peak, based on figures from CoinGecko.
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