U.S. regulators have cleared Nasdaq to list options tied directly to a Bitcoin (BTC) price index, opening a new route for stock-market traders to bet on the asset.
SEC Approves Nasdaq Bitcoin Index Options
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved the proposal on an "accelerated basis," according to a filing made public Friday and reports from Bloomberg.
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. They are cash-settled, European-style options, meaning traders settle gains and losses in dollars and can exercise only at expiration, which limits the chance of early assignment.
The approval widens the menu for institutional and retail traders in the United States. Until now, their main tools were Bitcoin futures options at CME Group and options tied to spot funds such as the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF.
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Why The Launch Date Stays Uncertain
Trading cannot begin right away. The contracts still need clearance from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission before they reach the market.
David Barrett, Nasdaq's head of U.S. options, called the decision an important step in expanding regulated, transparent access to digital asset derivatives.
Analysts read the move as part of a broader push by SEC Chairman Paul Atkins to pull crypto activity into the regulated U.S. financial system.
Atkins has warned that failing to address new technology only forces it offshore, citing the collapse of FTX in 2022. Many of the largest crypto derivatives venues, including Binance and Hyperliquid, still operate outside the country.
What The Approval Builds On
The SEC has steadily loosened its grip on Bitcoin derivatives over the past two years. Spot Bitcoin ETFs launched in January 2024, and Nasdaq first filed for index options the following August, with a formal proposal landing in September 2025. Regulators recently raised position limits on iShares Bitcoin Trust options to one million contracts, a sign that officials now view the market as deep enough to support broader products.
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