Nasdaq Secures SEC Approval for Bitcoin Index Options

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved Nasdaq's proposal to list options tied directly to a Bitcoin price index, allowing stock-market traders to bet on the asset.

The contracts will trade on Nasdaq PHLX under the ticker QBTC and track the CME CF Bitcoin Real Time Index, which pulls valuations from major spot venues every 200 milliseconds. These are not spot Bitcoin ETFs, but cash-settled, European-style options that limit the chance of early assignment.

The approval widens the menu for institutional and retail traders in the United States, who until now had limited tools such as Bitcoin futures options at CME Group and options tied to spot funds like the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF. The launch date remains uncertain due to pending clearance from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Nasdaq's head of US options, David Barrett, called the decision an 'important step in expanding regulated, transparent access to digital asset derivatives.' Analysts see this as part of a broader push by SEC Chairman Paul Atkins to bring crypto activity into the regulated US financial system. Atkins has warned that failing to address new technology forces it offshore, citing the collapse of FTX in 2022.