The U.S. SEC has postponed a decision on two requests to introduce options on spot Bitcoin ETFs to the market, following the recent successful launch by nine issuers, excluding Grayscale’s GBTC.

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF Application

In a filing on March 6, the SEC announced a delay in approving, denying, or initiating rule change processes for an application to list and trade options on BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) filed by Nasdaq.

A comment period for the proposal is now open, with five individuals providing feedback, urging the SEC to approve options trading on BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF. Nasdaq filed the request in January, shortly after the SEC approved Bitcoin-backed funds from issuers like BlackRock, Fidelity, and ARK 21Shares.

The SEC has set April 24 as the deadline to make a decision on the proposed rule change.

Cboe’s Spot Bitcoin ETF Options

The SEC has also deferred a decision on whether to allow the Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) to offer spot Bitcoin ETF options. This proposal has been delayed until April 24 as well.

Under current regulations, Cboe can list and trade options on any exchange-traded product three days after the fund debuts on registered exchanges. However, digital asset funds like Bitcoin do not fall under these rules, as clarified by Cboe in a statement on Jan. 5.

Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein has urged the SEC to approve options trading on spot Bitcoin ETFs promptly, emphasizing that denying shareholders and ETF investors this tool would be detrimental.

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