(Bloomberg) -- The US Securities and Exchange Commission has extended the timeline for which it will make decision on approving the trading of options on exchange-traded funds that invest directly in Bitcoin.
The US securities regulator deferred on a filing from Cboe Exchange Inc. to offer options tied to ETFs holding Bitcoin, according to documents posted on the agency’s website Wednesday. The SEC also delayed a decision on a filing from Nasdaq ISE to list and trade options on BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust.
The derivatives tools are used by traders to make wagers on futures gains or hedge against losses.
Investors have piled into spot-Bitcoin funds since the SEC approved them in January. The 10 funds have raked in a net $8.9 billion this year. Excluding Grayscale’s spot-fund, which existed in a prior fund structure, the newly approved funds hold about $26 billion in assets.
The SEC punted its decision to approve spot Bitcoin ETFs until the final deadline of all of the filings in January. Meanwhile, some experts warn the regulator may deny the current filings for spot-Ether ETFs.
