Cryptocurrency-related options are booming across the U.S. market, with contracts related to BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) breaking into the U.S. top 10 list just over a year after its debut.
A total of 7,714,246 IBIT contracts were active or open as of Tuesday, the ninth-most among options tied to U.S.-listed stocks, ETFs and indices, according to data source optioncharts.io. In stocks alone, IBIT options rank second in open interest.
BloFin Research said the growing popularity of options related to IBIT shows the appeal of BTC as a macro asset.
“IBIT option open interest reached #9 in the US market. Including Deribit open interest puts it on par with VIX and SPY options, further solidifying its position as one of the most popular macro assets,” the research firm told CoinDesk.
IBIT Options will debut in November 2024, enabling effective risk management for ETF holders and providing financial institutions with access to regulated options. Since then, traders have used these options for hedging, speculation, and yield-generating strategies such as covered calls.
An option is a derivative contract that gives the buyer the right to buy or sell the underlying asset at a specified price at a later date. A call provides the right to buy and a put option provides the right to sell.
Busier than gold ETF options
IBIT options are busier than SPDR gold ETF contracts, even though the yellow metal has surged 50% this year, outpacing BTC’s -0.1% decline.
On Tuesday, open interest in options related to the SPDR Gold Stock ETF stood at 5,151,654 contracts, well below IBIT.
Options tied to tech giants like Intel, Apple, Netflix, Amazon, and Tesla, as well as ETFs tied to emerging markets and 20-year Treasuries, also lag IBIT.
If that wasn’t enough, at the end of September, the open interest (OI) of Nasdaq-listed IBIT options exceeded the Bitcoin option OI of crypto options pioneer Deribit.
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 and Nvidia options were industry leaders, each with more than 20 million contracts as of Tuesday.