SEC Approves Nasdaq Bitcoin Index Option; Trading Needs CFTC OK

On May 22 the Securities and Exchange Commission approved Nasdaq PHLX’s rule change to list QBTC, a cash‑settled, European‑style Bitcoin index option. Trading cannot begin until the Commodity Futures Trading Commission grants exemptive relief, the Options Clearing Corporation updates its Options Disclosure Document and market makers commit liquidity.

QBTC contracts are cash‑settled in U.S. dollars and P.M.‑settled. Final settlement value will be tied to BRRNY, a New York‑close Bitcoin benchmark synchronized to 4:00 p.m. Eastern. The listed underlying is the CME CF Bitcoin Real Time Index, divided by 100. CF Benchmarks will publish an indicative value every 200 milliseconds during trading hours.

The contracts would clear through the OCC under the same account and margin framework used for equity index options. Nasdaq designed the product so investors could hold QBTC in the same securities accounts and under the same margin regime used for other listed index options.

Options on spot Bitcoin ETFs track fund shares. Nasdaq’s QBTC would reference a Bitcoin spot benchmark directly and run inside the listed‑index‑options infrastructure and clearinghouse systems.

The OCC processed 15.2 billion options contracts in 2025, including 5.68 billion ETF options and 1.26 billion index options. In April 2026 the clearinghouse cleared 1.45 billion contracts, with index‑options volume up 23.8% year over year. Listing QBTC would place Bitcoin volatility inside the same margin systems, broker integrations and market‑maker relationships that support equity index options.

The SEC noted the spot Bitcoin market cap was about $1.52 trillion as of April 29 and set position and exercise limits that would equal roughly 0.12% of outstanding Bitcoin supply. One QBTC contract would represent roughly one Bitcoin of notional exposure under a $100 multiplier. At a Bitcoin price near $76,593, 10,000 contracts would equal about $766 million of underlying notional.

If the CFTC grants exemptive relief, the OCC completes its disclosure update and dealers quote tight spreads, QBTC could begin trading with market‑maker support and be used by banks and asset managers to construct collars, buffered notes, downside‑protection strategies and volatility‑selling yield structures using Bitcoin as the underlying. If exemptive relief is delayed or dealer participation is limited, spreads could widen, open interest could remain low and institutional use could be constrained.

Cboe already lists cash‑settled Bitcoin index products tied to baskets of U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs. Nasdaq’s contracts differ by referencing the BRTI Bitcoin spot benchmark directly and by seeking to integrate with the existing equity index‑options stack, which requires building dealer and brokerage relationships for a product that market makers have not previously supported at scale.

In filings, Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan wrote that listed options and clearinghouse integration are needed to bring Bitcoin into routine risk‑management workflows.

The SEC’s order clears a regulatory hurdle but does not permit trading. The CFTC’s exemptive determination, the OCC’s disclosure update and market‑maker commitments will determine whether QBTC actually lists and trades.