US SEC gives green light for options listing for three spot bitcoin ETFs to NYSE

(Reuters) – (This Oct. 18 story has been corrected to say that the NYSE received approval to trade options on 3, not 11 ETFs, in the headline and paragraph 1, to remove references to IBIT and Invesco Galaxy approvals in paragraph 4, and to add a line about CBOE approvals in paragraph 3)

The U.S. securities regulator has granted “accelerated approval” to the New York Stock Exchange to list and trade options tied to three spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds, according to a regulatory filing.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had in January approved the bitcoin ETFs to track bitcoin, in what was a watershed for the world’s largest cryptocurrency and the broader crypto industry.

Separately, Cboe Global also got approval to trade options on two spot bitcoin ETFs, according to a filing.

Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund, the ARK21Shares Bitcoin ETF, and the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust BTC are among funds that received the approval on Friday.

The index options – listed derivatives offering a quick and inexpensive way to amplify exposure to bitcoin – on a bitcoin index would give institutional investors and traders an alternative way to hedge their exposure to the world’s largest cryptocurrency.

Options are listed derivatives that give the holder the right to buy or sell an asset, such as a stock or exchange-traded product, at a predetermined price by a set date.

The regulator last month approved listing and trading of options for asset manager BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)’s, exchange-traded fund on the Nasdaq.