Bitcoin Climbs to $94K as BlackRock’s ETF Options See Strong Opening with 354K Trades

Bitcoin surged to a fresh high above $94,000 on Wednesday after BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) made history as the first spot Bitcoin ETF approved for options trading.

Nasdaq launched options trading for the IBIT ETF on Tuesday, recording nearly $1.9b in notional exposure, according to Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst James Seyffart.

“Final tally of $IBIT‘s 1st day of options is just shy of $1.9 billion in notional exposure traded via 354k contracts.” Seyffart said in an X post.

Most of these were Call options, totaling 289,000, he said. These represent bets that Bitcoin’s price will increase. In comparison, only 65,000 Put options were traded, representing bets that the price will decrease. This means about four Calls were bought for every Put.

“These options were almost certainly part of the move to the new Bitcoin all-time highs today,” the analyst added.

UPDATE: Final tally of $IBIT's 1st day of options is just shy of $1.9 billion in notional exposure traded via 354k contracts. 289k were Calls & 65k were Puts. That's a ratio of 4.4:1. These options were almost certainly part of the move to the new #Bitcoin all time highs today pic.twitter.com/IN3s9hajJ2

— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) November 19, 2024

Bitcoin ETF Options Unlock New Opportunities for Traders as Volatility Persists

These options allow traders to buy or sell shares of the Bitcoin ETF at predetermined prices before expiration. They provide investors with new strategies to manage risk and capitalize on Bitcoin’s price swings. Their launch is expected to enhance crypto market dynamics.

Traders have various reasons to use Bitcoin ETF options. One key advantage is the ability to hedge existing Bitcoin investments, providing protection against unfavorable price changes. This is especially useful given Bitcoin’s well-known volatility, which often results in sharp price movements within short timeframes.

Bitwise and Grayscale are launching their Bitcoin ETF options on Wednesday, with other firms soon to follow suit.

BlackRock’s IBIT Posts Strong $1.9B Start, But Still Trails Big Players Like $GLD

Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, highlighted that IBIT’s notional exposure of $1.9b on its debut was exceptionally high for a first day.

$BITO managed $363m and that has been around for four years, he said. “That said, $1.9b isn’t quite big dog level yet tho, eg $GLD did $5b today, but give it a few more days/weeks,” he said, pointing to the SPDR Gold Shares ETF.

Bitcoin last traded around $91,997 as of press time, having increased nearly 30% since the presidential election.