The OCC has approved options trading for the Bitcoin ETF, and this new market is booming. In one day, BlackRock’s IBIT ETF saw more than $425 million in options trades.
Traders have made optimistic predictions, with more than $6 million betting that Bitcoin’s value will double within a month.
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Options
Since the OCC approved options trading for the Bitcoin ETF, this new investment opportunity has exploded. For example, Grayscale has registered a new Bitcoin covered options ETF. However, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, the biggest winner is BlackRock’s IBIT.
“A few hundred million so far in options volume on IBIT (huge for Day One). Here is a list of contracts by volume, most of which are call options. Very bullish, especially the December 20 C100 option, which essentially bets that BTC price will double in the next month,” Balchunas commented.
These Bitcoin options trades have far exceeded $425 million and are still growing. These numbers are impressive on their own, but Balchunas also notes that the Put Call ratio is 0.17. This represents the ratio of bad predictions to good predictions, demonstrating that these traders are betting overwhelmingly on Bitcoin’s rise.
By mid-afternoon, IBIT’s total trading volume had surpassed $3 billion. Even a week ago, $1 billion was called a strong showing.
These options trades have strongly boosted the leading Bitcoin ETF, while other issuers such as Grayscale have not yet entered the market much.
Meanwhile, spot Bitcoin ETFs are also gaining momentum. According to data from Farside Investors, on Tuesday, Bitcoin ETFs recorded inflows of $816.4 million as BTC hit a new all-time high.
These massive new inflows only further facilitate BlackRock’s continued Bitcoin investment. According to data from ETF analyst Shaun Edmondson, US issuers have purchased more than 2,800 BTC since Monday.
BlackRock alone bought more than 1,000 BTC. Furthermore, ETF issuers currently hold more than 5% of the total Bitcoin supply.