New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) American LLC proposed a rule change to allow options listing and trading for three Ethereum exchange-traded funds operated by crypto asset managers Grayscale and Bitwise. NYSE American requested the SEC on August 7 to permit options listing and trading for Bitwise Ethereum ETF (ETHW), Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE), and Grayscale Ethereum Mini (ETH).
Notable Move by NYSE
NYSE American stated that allowing options trading on the three Ethereum ETFs would benefit investors by providing a low-cost investment vehicle for additional investment in Ethereum. The application also mentioned that introducing options trading would offer investors a hedging mechanism to meet their investment needs related to Ethereum products and positions.
Comments on the proposal are expected to be submitted within the next 21 days. Notably, NYSE American’s rule change request will only apply to Grayscale and Bitwise, the only spot Ethereum funds listed on its exchange. NYSE American’s request came just one day after the Nasdaq options exchange asked the SEC to permit options trading on BlackRock iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA).
Like NYSE American’s proposed rule change, Nasdaq’s August 6 request for Ethereum ETF options will only apply to BlackRock’s fund, the only Ethereum ETF currently listed on Nasdaq.
Details on the Matter
Both NYSE American and Nasdaq may wait for a while for the SEC to approve their requests, as the regulator has not yet authorized options trading in spot Bitcoin ETFs, which started in January and currently manage about $50 billion in assets.
SEC stated in July that it needed more time to decide on the requests from half a dozen options exchanges, including Nasdaq, for options listing in spot Bitcoin ETFs. Options are widely used by hedge funds and financial planners to provide protection against sharp market movements, such as the 28% drop in Ethereum’s spot price on August 5.
