Bitcoin, after plummeting to $80,000 per bitcoin this month, has suddenly surged, topping $90,000 as traders brace for a Federal Reserve earthquake.
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The bitcoin price has swung wildly since hitting an all-time high of $126,000 per bitcoin in October, with its collapse sparking fears a bitcoin price nightmare could be coming true.
Now, as ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin warns of a fast-approaching, existential threat to crypto, Nasdaq International Securities Exchange (ISE) has filed to quadruple the trading capacity of options tied to BlackRock’s hugely successful IBIT bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).
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BlackRock chief executive Larry Fink has become one of the most bullish bitcoin voices on Wall Street, helping to power the bitcoin price boom since early 2024.
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“At last, IBIT options is finally getting the treatment it deserves,” Jeff Park, chief investment officer at ProCap BTC, posted to X. “Institutional volume is finally here.”
Nasdaq ISE’s proposed quadrupling the daily trading limit for options tied to BlackRock’s $70 billion bitcoin spot ETF, from the current 250,000-contract ceiling for the ETF to 1 million, follows rising demand from investors.
In September, BlackRock’s IBIT bitcoin fund surpassed Deribit as the largest venue for bitcoin options, with open interest reaching nearly $38 billion.
If accepted, Nasdaq ISE’s proposal would catapult BlackRock’s bitcoin fund to the same tier as major equities and ETFs such as Apple, Nvidia, and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF.
“The Exchange notes that the proposed position limits and exercise limits for options on IBIT are consistent with existing position limits and exercise limits for options on iShares MSCI Emerging Markets, iShares China Large-Cap ETF and iShares MSCI EAFE ETF,” the filing read.
The move has been called “massive” by author and influencer Adam Livingston, who added “bitcoin just became a macro asset baked into the U.S. financial infrastructure.”
The development comes hot on the heels of JPMorgan filing for an IBIT-based leveraged product that would allow investors to bet on the future price of bitcoin—something that’s expected to open the door to other Wall Street giants offering similar derivatives.
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The bitcoin price has bounced from a recent low of $80,000 per bitcoin, helped by a major update for BlackRock’s bitcoin ETF.
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“It is reasonable to expect more structured products to adopt IBIT as their underlying asset, which is a natural outcome of deeper institutional participation in bitcoin,” Tim Sun, a senior researcher at Hashkey Group, told Bloomberg.
BlackRock’s IBIT, which launched in January 2024 to huge fanfare alongside a dozen rival bitcoin ETFs, has surged thanks to massive inflows and a bitcoin price boom, becoming the fast-growing ETF of all time.
“Bitcoin is now treated as a strategic position rather than a speculative trade,” Jonathan Yark, quantitative trader at crypto market maker Acheron Trading, said in emailed comments.
“Bitcoin’s rally reflects structural forces rather than cyclical trading. Rising inflation, declining confidence in fiscal discipline, and the institutional search for non-sovereign collateral all contributed. Traditional firms are now building bitcoin allocations into their strategic frameworks.”