The SEC has cleared the way for Nasdaq to list a new Bitcoin index options product on the Philadelphia Stock Exchange (Phlx) — but trading won’t start immediately. Because Bitcoin is classified as a commodity under U.S. law, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission must still grant exemptive relief before any QBTC contracts can change hands. What was approved - The SEC published an accelerated approval Friday for Nasdaq’s proposal to list the options on Phlx. - Contracts will trade under the ticker QBTC, with a minimum price increment of $0.01 and a position limit of 24,000 contracts per side — roughly 0.12% of Bitcoin’s outstanding supply. - These are European-style, cash-settled options: at expiration the buyer receives the difference between the Bitcoin spot price and the strike price. No actual Bitcoin is delivered, and the structure removes the risk of early assignment that can affect options tied to spot-Bitcoin ETFs. Underpinning index and market data - QBTC options reference the Nasdaq Bitcoin Index, which tracks one one-hundredth of the CME CF BTC Real Time Index. That benchmark aggregates pricing from major crypto exchanges every 200 milliseconds to produce its real-time feed. Regulatory push-and-pull - The approval comes amid a regulatory tug between the SEC and CFTC. Last October, CME Group argued the new contracts fall squarely under the CFTC’s exclusive authority. The SEC countered that overlapping jurisdiction is not unprecedented — pointing to mixed swaps and security futures — and invoked Section 717 of the Dodd-Frank Act to justify concurrent oversight. - Practically, that means SEC approval alone isn’t enough: the CFTC’s sign-off is required before trading can begin. Bigger picture - The decision aligns with a broader shift at the SEC under Chair Paul Atkins, who has signaled a lighter enforcement hand on some previous crypto cases and pushed for clearer rules that foster innovation. The agency is reportedly working on an “innovation exemption” that could permit tokenized trading of public-company shares on decentralized platforms even without issuer consent. - Once both regulators sign off, Phlx will host QBTC — another milestone in Wall Street’s expanding toolkit of Bitcoin-linked financial products. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news