BlackRock’s IBIT Enters Top 10 List Of US-Listed Stocks With The Most Open Options Contracts

BlackRock’s US spot Bitcoin ETF (exchange-traded fund) has cracked into the top ten list of US-listed stocks with the highest number of either active or open options contracts.

According to data from optioncharts.io, the number of contracts tied to the BTC ETF, which trades under the ticker symbol “IBIT,” reached 7,714,246. This tally ranks IBIT at number nine on the list. Among stocks alone, IBIT options rank second in open interest as well. 

Options are derivative contracts that give the purchaser the right to buy or sell the underlying asset at a predetermined price at a later date. A call provides the right to buy while a put option offers the right to sell. 

IBIT’s move into the top ten list of the most contracts among US-listed stocks comes just over a year after options for the spot Bitcoin ETF debuted in the market. 

Since that launch, traders have used the options for hedging, speculation, and yield-generating strategies such as covered calls. 

IBIT Options More Actively Traded Than Gold ETF Options

IBIT options have also been busier than the SPDR gold ETF contracts. This is even though the popular commodity’s price has soared 50% this year, while Bitcoin’s price has dropped over 2% during the same period. 

BTC price performance over the past year (Source: CoinMarketCap)

Options tied to the SPDR Gold Shares ETF stood at 5,151,654 contracts on Tuesday, which is much lower than the total contracts for IBIT on the day. 

Meanwhile, the number of options tied to tech giants like Intel, Apple, Netflix, Amazon, and Tesla, and ETFs tied to emerging markets and 20-year Treasury notes, also came in lower than IBIT’s total. 

Nasdaq Requests Higher Position And Exercise Limits For IBIT Options

Demand for options tied to IBIT has been strong in 2025. This prompted Nasdaq ISE to file a proposal with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to expand the trading capacity of options tied to the Bitcoin ETF.

In a Federal Register notice towards the end of November, the exchange requested that position and exercise limits for IBIT options be raised from the current 250,000 contracts per side to one million contracts. This places IBIT in the same liquidity tier as major global equity benchmarks such as iShares MSCI Emerging Markets and iShares China Large-Cap ETF.

In its filing, Nasdaq ISE included a detailed analysis comparing IBIT’s market cap, average daily volume and liquidity to ETFs that already suppose one million contract limits. It also noted that even if there is a fully exercised position of one million contracts, this would equal just 7.5% of IBIT’s float and just 0.284% of all BTC in existence. 

IBIT Breaks Outflows Streak

The surging number of options contracts tied to IBIT comes as the spot Bitcoin ETF managed to break its outflows streak. 

According to data from Farside Investors, IBIT saw $120.1 million net daily inflows in the latest trading session, which was the highest amount posted by all of the US Bitcoin ETFs for the day. 

That followed two consecutive days of outflows for the BTC investment product, which saw more than $170 million leave its reserves. Even with these recent outflows, IBIT still leads the market in terms of cumulative inflows. 

Since US spot Bitcoin ETFs launched in early 2024, $62.620 billion has flowed into IBIT. The next-biggest cumulative inflows of $12.127 billion belong to Fidelity’s FBTC product.

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