US regulatory authority, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has given the green light for options trading on a multitude of spot Ethereum ETFs. This milestone decision includes ETFs from leading names like BlackRock, Bitwise, and Grayscale.
Under an “accelerated approval” process which took place on Wednesday, the permission to trade options for iShares Ethereum Trust was granted by the SEC. Additionally, the commission also gave the nod to NYSE American LLC’s proposal for options trading on the Bitwise Ethereum ETF, the Grayscale Ethereum Trust, and the Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust.
Roughly a year ago, the SEC approved eight spot Ethereum ETFs, which began trading this past summer. The SEC had also given approval to spot Bitcoin ETFs over a year ago and later, enabled options trading for these products in 2024.
Investment firms have since been jostling for the opportunity for options trading. Speaking on this, Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst, James Seyffart, indicated that more launches were on the horizon. The ETF Store’s president, Nate Geraci, echoed the sentiment.
Despite a recent price drop to $1,400, the price of Ether, Ethereum’s native cryptocurrency, bounced back on Wednesday to about $1,650. In a potential boost for investors, several firms are also angling for staking in their Ethereum ETFs. If approved, this could potentially generate extra returns on Ethereum holdings, which would then be passed on to the investors. Seyffart mentioned that these could be approved sooner, with final deadlines looming at the end of October.