The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has postponed its decision on the approval of options for BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA).
BlackRock and Nasdaq proposed a rule change that would make it possible to trade options for its spot Ethereum ETF last August.
The SEC will now have to decide whether the options can be approved by Apr. 9.
The agency stated that a long period would be appropriate to either greenlight or block the aforementioned product.
IBIT options are a massive success
The SEC greenlit options trading for BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF last September. These options became available for trading in November.
IBIT options ended up being a significant success, growing at a rapid pace, accounting for roughly half of Deribit’s open interest last month. According to data provided by Volmex, the open interest (OI) recorded by IBIT options topped $13 billion, surpassing 55% of Deribit’s options OI. In fact, IBIT became one of the most active ETF options markets shortly after its launch, rivaling the likes of iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT).
As noted by the firm, BlackRock’s product has experienced “massive adoption” within just several months since its launch. IBIT options are experiencing a fast increase in liquidity and overall interest. It has now emerged as the top alternative for American traders.
ETHA records more inflows
After an underwhelming start, BlackRock’s ETHA recorded $10.6 million worth of inflows. Yesterday, it was the only spot Ethereum ETF product in the green.
ETHA now has a total of $3.7 billion in total assets, substantially outperforming several competing products.
