According to a report by Sarah Wynn for The Block, Nasdaq ISE, LLC has officially withdrawn its proposals to list and trade options on spot Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The notices were filed on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) website, indicating that Nasdaq ISE withdrew these proposals on Tuesday.
Nasdaq ISE had filed with the SEC two proposed rule changes to amend Options 4, Section 3(h) to allow the exchange to list and trade options on units that represent interests in a trust that holds Bitcoin and one that holds Ether. Both Proposals were published for comment in the Federal Register on August 12. The Commission received no comments addressing the Proposal. On August 13, the exchange withdrew both of these proposals.
The Block’s report went on to say that this move by Nasdaq follows a broader trend among other exchanges over the past week. MIAX, MIAX Pearl, and BOX Exchange have also withdrawn their proposals to list and trade options on spot Bitcoin ETFs. Last week, Cboe made a similar decision, withdrawing its application for listing options on spot Bitcoin ETFs. However, Cboe later refiled the application, suggesting possible ongoing discussions with the SEC. The SEC has yet to approve the trading of options on spot Bitcoin or Ethereum ETFs.
In a related event, NYSE American LLC also retracted its proposal on Thursday to list and trade options on the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF and the Grayscale Bitcoin ETF, as reported by The Block.
Bloomberg Intelligence Analyst James Seyffart commented on the situation, indicating that Nasdaq and NYSE might soon refile their proposals. He pointed to Cboe’s actions as a potential precedent, suggesting that the exchanges remain interested in pursuing these listings and may be engaged in discussions with the SEC. Seyffart mentioned in a post on X, “I’m expecting them to re-file over the coming days or weeks like we saw from Cboe.”
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