Nasdaq asks to list options on spot Ethereum ETFs — filing

The Nasdaq options exchange has asked US regulators to allow trading in Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs), according to an Aug. 6 regulatory filing.

Nasdaq's proposed rule change applies only to BlackRock's iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA), which is the only ether (ETH) ETF listed on Nasdaq's electronic exchange. The others are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Arca or Cboe.

The filing is an important step toward wider adoption of ETH ETFs, which listed in July and continue to attract nearly $1.5 billion in net inflows, according to Morningstar.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has yet to approve trading options on Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs, which listed in January and now control nearly $50 billion in BTC.

In July, the SEC told half a dozen options exchanges, including the Nasdaq ISE, which had asked to list options on its spot BTC ETFs, that more time was needed to reach a decision.

Options are widely used by hedge funds and financial planners to protect against sharp market movements – like the 28% drop in the price of Ether on August 5th. They also form the basis of more exotic techniques such as the “covered choke”. By 10x Research, an investment research firm.

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Financial advisors control nearly half of investment flows in the $9 trillion ETF market, and more than 10% of advisors will actively use options to manage client portfolios by 2023, according to a study by The Journal of Financial Planning.

Morgan Stanley — the largest financial advisory firm with $3.75 trillion in assets — will allow its 15,000 advisors to begin recommending BTC ETFs as soon as this week.

In the year On August 5, Europe's fourth-largest hedge fund said it had invested nearly $500 million into a BTC ETF, following others such as Millennium Management, which poured nearly $2 billion into a Bitcoin fund earlier this year.

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