Nasdaq's International Securities Exchange (ISE) has put forward a request to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to increase the position and exercise limits for options on BlackRock's
iShares Bitcoin Trust
(IBIT) by four times, which would place the product in the same liquidity category as leading global equity benchmarks such as iShares MSCI Emerging Markets (EEM) and SPDR Gold Trust (GLD)
[according to reports]
. The existing ceiling of 250,000 contracts per side has been described as a constraint, limiting institutional trading strategies and overall market liquidity.
Nasdaq
maintains that IBIT's swift expansion—now the largest
Bitcoin
options market by open interest, overtaking Deribit—justifies aligning its limits with those of high-liquidity ETFs
[as research shows]
. Raising the cap to one million contracts would match the thresholds set for EEM and SPDR Gold Trust, acknowledging IBIT's emergence as a premier asset
[according to market analysis]
.
The application, dated November 21, 2025, highlights the surging interest in IBIT, with average daily trading volumes topping 44.6 million shares and a market value of $86.2 billion as of September 2025
[as reported]
.
Nasdaq pointed out that even if the full one million contract limit were exercised, it would only represent 7.5% of IBIT's available shares and just 0.284% of the total Bitcoin supply, thus posing minimal systemic risk
[according to Nasdaq]
. The exchange is also proposing to eliminate position limits for physically settled FLEX
IBIT
options, bringing them in line with commodity ETFs such as GLD and SPDR Gold Trust
[as industry sources note]
. This adjustment is intended to accommodate large institutional investors seeking tailored hedging solutions, marking a significant step in the broader adoption of Bitcoin derivatives.
The proposal has received positive feedback from industry professionals. Jeff Park of Bitwise Asset Management remarked that the previous limit was "insufficient" for institutional needs, while Eric Balchunas from Bloomberg emphasized BlackRock's influence in advancing Bitcoin ETF development
[according to market analysis]
. Vincent Liu of Kronos Research expects the SEC to approve the change, describing it as a "standard" adjustment for assets with established trading volumes
[as analysts suggest]
. Experts believe the revision will improve market functionality, resulting in narrower spreads and greater order book depth, which will help major investors hedge and structure products more efficiently
[according to industry experts]
.
The SEC is accepting public feedback on the proposal until December 17, 2025
[as reported]
. Should the proposal be approved, it would mark a milestone in Bitcoin's integration into institutional markets, providing a regulated environment for capital deployment and risk control. Analysis from CoinLaw describes the proposal as a turning point, with higher limits expected to draw in hedge funds and other major investors, further cementing Bitcoin's role as a mainstream financial asset
[according to analysis]
.