ETFs are still seeing five straight days of outflows, but the SEC has turned around and added a new tool for crypto ETFs—options are on the way.
On November 10, the SEC approved Nasdaq ISE’s proposal SR-ISE-2026-42: going forward, qualifying crypto ETFs won’t have to apply to the SEC one by one; exchanges can list options on them directly.
The bar is still high: each “digital commodity” in the trust must have an average daily market cap of more than $700 million over the past 12 months, and 85% of the trust’s assets must have derivatives monitored on a regulated market. Of the 19 digital commodities recognized by the SEC, Bitcoin, Ethereum, SOL, XRP, DOGE, and ADA are all included.
Previously, spot ETFs had to launch first, and then options were approved one by one. IBIT’s options weren’t approved until September 2024. Now the rules have changed: qualifying ETFs can get options right away, so options on new ETFs no longer have to wait in line for approval.
This whale’s take: this won’t rescue prices in the short term. $BTC is still hovering around $74,000, and spot ETFs saw another $30.1 million in net outflows on November 11, marking five straight days of outflows. But this fills out the toolkit for crypto ETFs—institutions need hedging and portfolio strategies before they’ll feel comfortable holding positions as a genuine allocation. Tools come first, capital follows. Keep an eye on the first options products listed under the new rules and see whether options on $ETH heat up before the spot market.
On November 10, the SEC approved Nasdaq ISE’s proposal SR-ISE-2026-42: going forward, qualifying crypto ETFs won’t have to apply to the SEC one by one; exchanges can list options on them directly.
The bar is still high: each “digital commodity” in the trust must have an average daily market cap of more than $700 million over the past 12 months, and 85% of the trust’s assets must have derivatives monitored on a regulated market. Of the 19 digital commodities recognized by the SEC, Bitcoin, Ethereum, SOL, XRP, DOGE, and ADA are all included.
Previously, spot ETFs had to launch first, and then options were approved one by one. IBIT’s options weren’t approved until September 2024. Now the rules have changed: qualifying ETFs can get options right away, so options on new ETFs no longer have to wait in line for approval.
This whale’s take: this won’t rescue prices in the short term. $BTC is still hovering around $74,000, and spot ETFs saw another $30.1 million in net outflows on November 11, marking five straight days of outflows. But this fills out the toolkit for crypto ETFs—institutions need hedging and portfolio strategies before they’ll feel comfortable holding positions as a genuine allocation. Tools come first, capital follows. Keep an eye on the first options products listed under the new rules and see whether options on $ETH heat up before the spot market.
