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Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, is seeking approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to offer options on its spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The SEC has opened a comment period for a proposed rule change, filed by Nasdaq, to list and trade options on Blackrock’s spot bitcoin ETF. Since launch, Blackrock’s Ishares Bitcoin Trust has amassed 28,622 bitcoins.

SEC Opens Comment Period for Options Trading on Ishares Bitcoin Trust

Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, is seeking to offer options on its spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), the Ishares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT).
Nasdaq, which lists and trades IBIT, filed a proposed rule change (Form 19b-4) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday to list and trade options on IBIT. In its SEC filing, Nasdaq explained:

The Exchange believes that offering options on the Trust [IBIT] will benefit investors by providing them with an additional, relatively lower cost investing tool to gain exposure to spot bitcoin as well as a hedging vehicle to meet their investment needs in connection with bitcoin products and positions.

Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart commented: “The SEC has already acknowledged the 19b-4’s requesting the ability to trade options on spot bitcoin ETFs. This is faster than SEC typically moves.” The analyst opined: “Options could be approved before [the] end of February if SEC wants to move fast?… At [the] absolute earliest, options [are] still ~27+ days away.”
Following Nasdaq’s filing, the SEC opened a comment period for the proposed rule change to list and trade options on Ishares Bitcoin Trust. The comment period lasts 21 days after the publication in the federal register.
Since its launch on Jan. 11, Blackrock’s Ishares Bitcoin Trust has accumulated 28,622 bitcoins with a market value of $1.199 billion as of Jan. 18.
Ishares Bitcoin Trust’s holdings as of Jan. 18. Source: Blackrock’s Ishares website.

Spot bitcoin ETFs have seen strong trading volumes since they launched on Jan. 11. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas detailed that nine spot bitcoin ETFs “saw another jump in volume” on Friday, up 12% compared to Thursday and 53% from Wednesday. He called it “a rare phenomenon.” The analyst further noted that Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) and Blackrock’s IBIT “are in a legit duel to be The One.” Nonetheless, he emphasized: “All of them posting huge numbers for newbies, competition is making them all hustle twice as hard.”
Spot bitcoin ETFs’ trading volumes. Source: Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas.
The SEC approved 11 spot bitcoin ETFs on Jan. 10. Besides Grayscale’s bitcoin ETF, which converted from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), Blackrock’s IBIT leads the pack in terms of total trading volume, closely followed by Fidelity’s FBTC. Grayscale’s bitcoin ETF has seen a significant outflow of bitcoin. Since Jan. 12, the trust has witnessed a cumulative outflow of 50,106.59 BTC, valued at more than $2 billion. According to Balchunas, Blackrock’s spot bitcoin ETF is in the top 15 of all ETFs by assets and the top 2% by daily trading volume.
What do you think about Blackrock seeking to offer options on its spot bitcoin ETF? Let us know in the comments section below.

US Senators Introduce Bill 'to Combat Illicit Use of Crypto Assets' Through Public-Private Partnership

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U.S. lawmakers have introduced a bill “to combat the illicit use of crypto assets.” The Preventing Illicit Finance Through Partnership Act “will allow federal regulators to work with the private sector to gain insight into the often-misunderstood world of crypto to weed out bad actors without crushing an entire emerging industry,” Senator Cynthia Lummis described.

Preventing Illicit Finance Through Partnership Act 2024

U.S. Senators Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) introduced the Preventing Illicit Finance Through Partnership Act of 2024 on Wednesday. Hagerty and Lummis are members of the Senate Banking Committee.
The bill seeks to “establish an information-sharing pilot program to combat the illicit use of crypto assets,” according to the bill’s text. The legislation targets illicit finance through enhanced communication between federal law enforcement agencies and private companies. Senator Lummis opined:

There are bad actors in every industry and crypto assets are no exception but make no mistake — crypto itself is not the problem.

“The Preventing Illicit Finance Through Partnership Act will allow federal regulators to work with the private sector to gain insight into the often-misunderstood world of crypto to weed out bad actors without crushing an entire emerging industry,” the lawmaker from Wyoming described. “This public-private partnership will help inform regulators about the use cases for crypto assets and clear the way to establishing federal rules of the road that will keep the industry in America and solidify crypto’s role as the next frontier of financial innovation.”
The announcement provides some details of the pilot program to be established by the Preventing Illicit Finance Through Partnership of 2024, stating:

The program would be chaired by the Attorney General and composed of 20 voluntarily participating money services businesses and cryptocurrency companies.

Ten of the 20 participants will be money services businesses and the other 10 will be private sector entities from the crypto industry. The pilot program shall terminate after five years of the date of enactment of the bill.

There are other efforts aimed at addressing crypto’s illicit use, including Senator Elizabeth Warren’s Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act. However, critics have dubbed Warren’s bill a “crypto ban” bill. This perception has fueled counter efforts like the “Stop the Crypto Ban” petition on Change.org. In addition, Warren, alongside 100 other lawmakers, sent a letter in October last year urging the Biden administration to tackle the role of crypto in illegal activities and terrorism. “Congress and this administration must take strong action to thoroughly address crypto illicit finance risks before it can be used to finance another tragedy,” the letter reads.
However, the volume of illicit activities in crypto transactions pales in comparison to those in traditional finance. Blockchain data analytics firm Chainalysis said Thursday that “2023 saw a significant drop in value received by illicit cryptocurrency addresses.” The firm noted: “Our estimate for the share of all crypto transaction volume associated with illicit activity also fell, to 0.34% from 0.42% in 2022.”