National Securities Exchange MIAX Withdraws Bitcoin ETF Options Proposal

National securities exchange MIAX, along with others, has withdrawn its proposal to list and trade options on spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds.

Miami International Securities Exchange, LLC, or MIAX, withdrew its proposed rule change on Aug. 1, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing posted on Thursday. MIAX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Other exchanges also withdrew similar proposals according to filings posted on Thursday, including MIAX PEARL, LLC and BOX Exchange LLC. BOX Options did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

MIAX first proposed the rule change in January, shortly after the SEC approved several spot bitcoin ETFs, including from firms such as BlackRock, Grayscale, and Fidelity. Other exchanges are also looking to allow for options trading, but have not yet received the SEC’s approval. Bloomberg Intelligence Analyst James Seyffart indicated that the agency might approve options for spot bitcoin ETFs by the end of next month.

“We think the #Bitcoin BTC +4.86% ETF options happen in the 4th quarter this year. The final deadline for SEC decision is ~Sept. 21 but there are more steps needed after that from OCC & CFTC,” Seyffart noted on Thursday in a post on X.

Seyffart remarked that he was not overly concerned with the exchanges’ withdrawal.

“Not gonna read much into it for now,” Seyffart shared in a post on X. “The exchange filings that matter are the ones that list the ETFs — Nasdaq, NYSE, & CBOE.”

Comment Letters

All three received a comment letter on their proposed rule change from Better Markets, a non-partisan organization founded after the 2008 financial crisis, which urged the SEC to decline approval of options on spot bitcoin ETFs.

“The SEC should proceed especially cautiously because options on spot bitcoin ETPs will expose retail investors to a tremendous amount of risk. Options on spot bitcoin ETPs also pose systemic risks to the financial system that the SEC must be careful to guard against,” Better Markets stated in its letter.

In contrasting comment letters, some believe approving options is a logical progression.

“It stands to reason that now that spot Bitcoin ETPs have been approved for trading on NYSE Arca pursuant to the Rule 19b-4 process, the next natural step is the approval of options on spot Bitcoin ETPs—the same way options on spot gold ETPs were approved,” said former Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein in support of NYSE Arca Inc.’s proposal.

Update: Aug. 8:35 p.m. UTC to include other exchanges’ withdrawal proposals.