The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved a Nasdaq rule change to remove specific restrictions on options overlying spot Bitcoin ETFs.
According to SEC Release No. 34-104649, published on 21 Jan, the Nasdaq Options Market (NOM) will now treat "Crypto Assets", specifically spot Bitcoin ETFs, under the same position and exercise limit framework as other standard exchange-traded funds.
The order, effective immediately, applies to the iShares Bitcoin Trust, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, and the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF. By waiving the standard 30-day operative delay, the SEC has accelerated the integration of crypto-linked derivatives into the US financial rail. This move aligns with the Future Proof Initiative, which signaled the end of the agency's litigation-first approach in favor of a standardised market structure.
Ending the operative delayThe SEC decision to bypass the customary waiting period reflects a sharp change in administrative temperament under Chairman Paul Atkins. Nasdaq argued that the waiver was necessary to ensure Bitcoin-related options are treated with the same efficiency as other high-volume commodity-based trusts.
Previously, crypto-linked options were siloed under bespoke, more restrictive position limits. The new rule aligns these products with "Options 4, Section 3(h)(vi)," the generic framework for commodity-based trust shares. This removal of "special case" status for Bitcoin follows our analysis of the Clarity Act, which remains the legislative North Star for these regulatory shifts.
Institutional liquidity and position limitsFor institutions, the removal of these restrictions is a prerequisite for high-conviction hedging and income-generation strategies. Position limits define the maximum number of options contracts an investor may hold on one side of the market; by normalizing these, the SEC is facilitating deeper liquidity and tighter spreads.
"The Exchange expects that all option exchanges will adopt substantively similar proposals," Nasdaq noted in the filing. This coordinated industry-wide shift mirrors NYSE’s move toward tokenized, 24/7 share trading, as legacy exchanges race to integrate blockchain-based efficiencies into traditional settlement cycles.