Leading asset manager BlackRock and leading exchange Nasdaq filed a request for approval of Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded fund (ETF) options contracts.
Recent filings show that Nasdaq is requesting a rule change to list the Ethereum ETF options contracts. Bloomberg researcher and analyst James Seyffart wrote in an Aug. 6 tweet the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is likely to take the decision next year:
Nasdaq and BlackRock’s filing to add options on Ethereum ETFs has hit the SEC site. Final SEC decision on this from SEC likely to be around April 9th, 2025.
Seyffart further highlighted that other than the SEC, a listing of those derivatives would also need approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and Commodity and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Product specifics
Nasdaq’s request only requests to list options based on the iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA). This is most likely simply because this is the sole Ethereum spot ETF product listed on the exchange. Competing Ethereum ETFs are instead listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Arca or the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE).
The development also follows CoinGlass data showing that Ethereum ETFs saw nearly 40,700 ETH worth of inflows on Aug. 6. This is the most those products have ever seen, with the launch day only seeing an inflow of just over 31,000 ETH.
In United States dollar terms, this is not a new record. When the products were first listed on July 23, the inflows were worth $106 million while yesterday they stood at $98.4 million. Despite that, this is still a notable milestone showing that a significant number of market participants view the recent sell-off as a buying opportunity.
At time of publishing, CoinMarketCap data shows Ethereum is trading at about $2,470 after seeing 0.3% of gains over the last 24 hours. More importantly, the coin lost over a quarter of its total value over the last seven days.
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