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BlackRock seeks to launch options on Ethereum ETFs. What does this mean for the market?
Nasdaq and BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, are planning to start trading options on the spot Ethereum ETF.
According to a filing posted on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s website, representatives of Nasdaq and BlackRock asked the regulator to allow trading options on the iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA), the only Ethereum-based ETF listed on the Nasdaq exchange.
The published document proposes changing the rules for listing and trading options on the iShares Ethereum Trust. The exchange offers to expand the list of ETFs suitable for trading on the exchange in accordance with options by including the Trust.
Trust’s ETH becomes subject to the Ethereum proof-of-stake validation or is used to earn additional ETH or generate income or other earnings.
Comments on the Nasdaq and BlackRock proposal are accepted within 21 business days. Meanwhile, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart believes that the final decision on this application will not be made before April 2025.
The expert explained that BlackRock needs approval from the SEC, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Options Clearing Corporation to trade options on the spot Ethereum (ETH) ETF.
At the same time, Nasdaq is still waiting for approval to trade options on spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs. In July, the SEC said it needed more time to decide on this class of products.
How does spot Ethereum ETF options trading work?
Options are contracts that allow the option buyer to buy or sell the underlying asset at a specified time and price.
Retail investors use options for speculation and short-term transactions, as options have a high potential return, and the possible loss is limited: having bought an option, you cannot lose more than the amount of the option premium. At the same time, options allow them to earn money for growth and the fall of assets.
BlackRock‘s options offering will provide investors with an additional and relatively inexpensive investment vehicle for purchasing ETH on the spot and a hedging tool to meet their investment needs.
In other words, the new product will give those who want to engage with digital assets another way. Since the cost of interacting with them is relatively low, options will surely be in demand.
Ethereum spot ETFs receive approval
Since the January approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF, many financial institutions, including financial giants BlackRock and Fidelity, have been seeking approval to create cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds. Their goal was to allow investors to trade Ethereum in the form of fund shares without having to deal with the cryptocurrency directly.
On May 23, the SEC approved the launch of a spot Ethereum ETF in the U.S. BlackRock, 21Shares, Bitwise, Fidelity Investments, Franklin Templeton, VanEck, and Invesco Galaxy received the regulator’s approval.
The ETH-ETF products began trading on July 23. In the first 15 minutes, the sector saw $112 million in trading volume.
Amid the crypto market collapse on Aug. 6, total inflows into ETH ETFs amounted to $98.3 million — the second result since the products were approved, according to SoSoValue.
BlackRock options strategies
BlackRock introduced two new ETFs that use options strategies in the spring. The new funds use a covered call strategy on U.S. stocks.
The first, the iShares S&P 500 BuyWrite ETF (IVVW), focuses on large-cap stocks. The fund tracks the performance of an index that reflects a strategy of owning 500 large-cap U.S. stocks while writing (selling) one-month call options for income.
The second, the iShares Russell 2000 BuyWrite ETF (IWMW), is a small-cap ETF. The fund tracks the performance of an index that reflects a strategy of owning 2,000 small-cap U.S. stocks while writing (selling) one-month call options for income.
With the launch of the new products, investors began to receive monthly income from the option premiums earned under their strategies and potential price appreciation on the stocks they track — up to a specific limit.
Should BlackRock approve the new product?
BlackRock has virtually zero history of rejecting ETFs, and the giant has more than $9 trillion in assets under management. Therefore, the company’s desire to launch a new crypto-based tool will most likely end in success, which will attract clients and their capital to the industry.
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Asset management giant BlackRock, with over $10 trillion in assets under management, has published a new report touting Bitcoin as a unique portfolio diversifier. This marks the latest embrace of Bitcoin from the world’s largest asset manager.
Earlier this year, BlackRock launched a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (IBIT), rapidly becoming one of the most successful ETF launches ever. The Bitcoin ETF already has over $21 billion in assets under management.
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink also recently changed his sceptical stance on Bitcoin, admitting he was “wrong” to dismiss it. The firm has steadily released research explaining Bitcoin’s potential role for investors.
The new report explains that while volatile, Bitcoin is fundamentally detached from other asset classes over the long term. It argues Bitcoin’s adoption depends on global concerns over monetary stability, geopolitics, fiscal policy, and political stability – the inverse of traditional “risk assets.”
“Bitcoin, as the first decentralized, non-sovereign monetary alternative to gain widespread global adoption, has no traditional counterparty risk, depends on no centralized system, and is not driven by any one country’s fortunes,” the report states.
As major traditional finance players like BlackRock increasingly embrace Bitcoin, its reputation and adoption will likely accelerate, bringing it further into the mainstream. BlackRock’s continued pro-Bitcoin stance reflects growing acceptance by global financial institutions.
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Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas has asserted that BlackRock and the Bitcoin ETFs saved the BTC from massive decline. The analyst’s statement related to rumors that the world’s largest asset manager receives Bitcoin IOUs from the Coinbase crypto exchange. A popular crypto analyst has outlined a theory suggesting that the asset manager may be shorting BTC with these IOUs, leading to the coin’s decline at different times.
BlackRock And Bitcoin ETFs Saved Bitcoin Price
Balchunas stated in an X post that BlackRock and the Bitcoin ETFs repeatedly saved the BTC price “from the abyss.” The analyst made this statement to rebut arguments that traditional investors were to blame every time the coin declined. He added that he understands why these exist, as people want to “scapegoat the ETFs” because they find it hard to believe that the native HODLers could be the sellers.
However, Eric Balchunas claimed that these Bitcoin natives are indeed the sellers. He remarked that they are sabotaging the Bitcoin price, not traditional investors. Popular Bitcoin analyst Ali Martinez recently revealed how BTC miners had sold over 30,000 $BTC in three days, proving Balchunas’s point that the “call is coming from inside the house.”
#Bitcoin miners have sold over 30,000 $BTC in the last 72 hours, worth around $1.71 billion! pic.twitter.com/OuaiIo7QZ9
— Ali (@ali_charts) September 11, 2024
It is also worth mentioning that these Bitcoin ETFs contributed significantly to the BTC price reaching a new all-time high (ATH) of $73,000 in March earlier this year. These funds witnessed impressive net inflows upon launch, causing new money to flow into the BTC ecosystem and spark a rise in its price. BlackRock, in particular, has continued to hold on to its coins, recording only three daily net outflows since its January launch.
Coinbase Helping TradFi To Supress Bitcoin
There have been rumors that Coinbase is writing Bitcoin IOUs for BlackRock, leading to price suppression. Crypto analyst Tyler Durden is one of those who have continued to make such allegations. Earlier this year, the analyst explained that the crypto exchange’s IOUs to the asset manager means they can borrow as much Bitcoin to short and not show proof that they hold the coin 1:1.
I told everyone I went through the chain – I mean it’s a public ledger literally anyone can do it – Coinbase are writing IOUs for Blackrock.
Now everyone is waking up and hopefully Coinbase has a bank run.
Baldilocks is anti bitcoin. pic.twitter.com/GsnTSg0y6Q
— Tyler (@TylerDurden) September 14, 2024
To further prove his point that the world’s largest asset manager was suppressing BTC price with Coinbase’s help, Durden alluded to data from Cryptoquant. He claimed the US crypto exchange was the biggest buyer and seller on every bottom and top in this range. The analyst also opined that the asset manager will put a top on the market at some point and crash it or create a major pullback.
Meanwhile, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong responded to Durden’s allegations, clarified how ETF mints and burns are processed, and ultimately settled on-chain. He indicated there was no foul play, noting that they are audited and these reports are available to everyone. Armstrong added that they had no right to share the addresses of their institutional clients, including BlackRock.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at around $60,000. As Coingape reported, the projected rate cuts next week could benefit the BTC price. Historically, this macro event is bullish for the coin.
Boluwatife Adeyemi
Boluwatife Adeyemi is a well-experienced crypto news writer and editor who has covered topics that cut across DeFi, NFTs, smart contracts, and blockchain interoperability, among others. Boluwatife has a knack for simplifying the most technical concepts and making it easy for crypto newbies to understand. Away from writing, Boluwatife is an avid basketball lover and a part-time degen.
Disclaimer: The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.
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Outflows from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, or exchange-traded funds, surpassed $706 million this week as bears pushed Bitcoin to $53,304 — its lowest level since Aug. 5.
According to data from SoSoValue, the 12 spot Bitcoin ETFs logged $169.97 million in net outflows on Sep. 6, with Grayscale and Fidelity leading the pack.
- Fidelity’s FBTC shed $85.5 million, with the fund experiencing negative flows for the past seven trading days.
- Grayscale’s GBTC added to the exit liquidity, with $52.9 million leaving the fund, bringing total losses to over $20 billion since its inception. Over the past eight days, the fund has lost $279.9 million, continuing its outflow streak since Aug. 27.
- Bitwise’s BITB saw outflows of $14.3 million
- ARK 21Shares’ ARKB, $7.2 million
- Grayscale’s Bitcoin mini trust, $5.5 million
- Valkyrie’s BRRR, $4.6 million
BlackRock, WisdomTree avoid outflows
BlackRock’s IBIT and WisdomTree’s BTCW were the only Bitcoin ETFs that avoided outflows over the past week. However, they recorded no new inflows in the last two days.
This investor hesitancy coincides with Bitcoin’s recent dip. The bellwether crypto was back up to $54,333 at the time of writing after briefly touching $52,690—its lowest point since Aug 5. Yet BTC was down 3% over the past day.
Bitcoin is down 10.4% from its weekly high and 17.5% from its 30-day peak of $64,648, reached on Aug. 26. The turbulence intensified over the past 24 hours as $113.86 million in Bitcoin positions were liquidated, according to Coinglass.
Bitcoin’s price drop came amid growing unease in the crypto market, fueled by what is dubbed the “Redtember” seasonal slump and uncertainty over potential U.S. interest rate cuts. These factors dampened investor confidence and glorified market volatility.
According to data from Alternative, the widely monitored Crypto Fear and Greed Index still stands at 23, its lowest level in over a month. This indicates high investor anxiety and a risk-averse market environment.
Further downside expected
Technical indicators suggest that a death cross could form soon, with the 50-day and 200-day Exponential Moving Averages nearing a crossover. Death crosses are one of the most feared patterns in technical analysis. Bitcoin plummeted more than 67% after forming a death cross in January 2022.
Analysts on social media platform X also maintained a bearish outlook. According to crypto analyst Pushpendra Singh Digital, BTC is stuck in a falling wedge pattern.
He suggests a breakout above the wedge around the $57,800 to $58,000 range could lead to a strong upward move.
However, if BTC drops below the support trendline around $54,000, it could lead to further downsides.
Echoing this cautious sentiment, a 1D BTC/USDT chart shared by Crypto analyst Nika also highlighted Bitcoin’s struggle to climb above the $58,000 level.
If the cryptocurrency fails to clear this resistance zone, it could face a more significant downward path, with potential support levels at $45,000 and $42,000.
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