Bitcoin (BTC) reached a new record high on Tuesday, surpassing $94,000, following the launch of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) options, a move expected to increase the cryptocurrency’s institutional and retail exposure.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at over $94,000, a 4% increase over the previous 24 hours, breaking its prior record of $93,450 set on November 13. The CoinDesk 20 Index, tracking the top 20 cryptocurrencies (excluding stablecoins and memecoins), was up by about 0.3%, with Hedera (HBAR) leading the gainers at 9%, and Polkadot (POL) down by 0.8%.
The debut of options for spot Bitcoin ETFs marks a significant milestone for the market, especially for retail investors and financial institutions looking for more ways to invest in Bitcoin. While Bitcoin options were already available through the CME, the new offerings are seen as a key development for expanding the market. Noelle Acheson, former head of market insights at Genesis, noted that these options would increase market sophistication, making the asset more attractive to both institutions and individual investors. “The flexibility options provide allows for more granular trading strategies, which is particularly appealing to larger institutional investors,” Acheson explained.
So far, only one of the 11 U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs—BlackRock’s IBIT—has launched options, and demand has been strong from the outset. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas reported several hundred million dollars in options volume on IBIT within its first day, with the majority of contracts being call options, suggesting that many investors are betting on continued upward price movement for Bitcoin.
