Wall Street accelerates embrace of cryptocurrency market SEC approves Nasdaq to launch Bitcoin options products

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved Nasdaq to launch options products based on the Bitcoin price index, indicating that the integration of Wall Street and the digital asset market is further accelerating. According to documents released by the SEC on Friday, the product received "accelerated approval". This is an important step for the traditional U.S. financial markets to further open up to cryptocurrency assets, and it also means that U.S. investors will have new ways to participate in Bitcoin trading in the future. Unlike the mainstream Bitcoin ETF options in the market, the newly approved product belongs to "cash-settled European options". This means that investors do not need to actually hold Bitcoin, and there is no risk of early exercise commonly seen in ETF options. According to reports, these options products will operate based on the "CME CF Bitcoin Real-Time Index". The index is updated every 200 milliseconds and integrates real-time data from multiple cryptocurrency exchanges. Although the SEC has approved the related products, their official listing for trading still needs to obtain final approval from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). In fact, Bitcoin-related options products already exist in the U.S. market. CME Group has been offering Bitcoin futures options since 2020. However, the biggest difference in the new product launched by Nasdaq is that it officially introduces Bitcoin options into the U.S. stock options market system, expected to further expand the range of investor participation. David Barrett, head of Nasdaq's U.S. options business, stated that the conditional approval by the SEC is "an important step in expanding the supervision and transparent access to digital asset derivatives". In recent years, U.S. regulatory agencies have gradually shifted towards a more open attitude towards cryptocurrency assets. The current SEC chairman, Atkins, has been a strong supporter of the development of the U.S. cryptocurrency market. Currently, most cryptocurrency derivatives trading is still mainly concentrated on overseas platforms, including Binance and Hyperliquid exchanges. Atkins had previously publicly stated that the FTX collapse event in 2022 precisely demonstrates the enormous risks of keeping digital asset trading outside of domestic regulation for a long time. In a speech on May 8th, he said, "The experience of FTX rapidly expanding overseas and eventually collapsing shows that if the U.S. does not actively embrace innovative technologies and establish regulatory frameworks, it will only force related businesses to move overseas, and U.S. investors will ultimately still be harmed."