Nasdaq recently moved BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF, IBIT, into the same regulatory class as the world’s largest, most liquid equities. This upgrade comes with a dramatic increase in options limits, raising the cap from 25,000 contracts to one million contracts.
For institutional investors, that is forty times more room to trade derivatives, marking a transition from simple ETF adoption to a full-scale derivatives market. For beginners and investors alike, this move signals that Bitcoin is now being treated as a top-tier global asset with liquidity on par with tech giants.
From ETF Adoption to Derivatives Market
The change in regulatory classification reflects IBIT’s growth in market cap, trading frequency, and liquidity. According to Nasdaq’s rule filing, the ETF has now reached levels comparable to major stocks like Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia. These are companies that form the backbone of global equity markets and serve as benchmarks for institutional trading.
SEC MOVES TO SUPERCHARGE IBIT OPTIONS WITH 1 MILLION CONTRACT LIMIT
The SEC just posted a Nasdaq ISE proposal to boost IBIT options limits.
Position and exercise caps would jump from 250k to 1,000,000 contracts.
In addition, physically settled FLEX IBIT options would have no… pic.twitter.com/axck3YhCla
— Bitcoin News (@BitcoinNewsCom) November 26, 2025
By placing IBIT in this category, the market formally recognizes Bitcoin as a mega-cap asset. Historically, when derivative exposure scales in this way, price discovery accelerates, often leading to more pronounced movements in the underlying asset. For example, after major ETFs and futures for Bitcoin were launched in the United States in 2021, trading volumes surged, contributing to significant price rallies and volatility.
🎲 Bitcoin margin trading just hit a new all-time high 4 months in a row.
More traders than ever are piling into futures, hoping to get rich off a couple of lucky trades. Risk appetite is at peak levels. And the numbers prove it 👇
📈 Open Interest (OI):
• Total BTC futures… pic.twitter.com/aiBxg1SBBl— Constantin Kogan (@constkogan) November 27, 2025
The expansion of options capacity allows professional traders and hedge funds to use complex strategies with IBIT. This includes hedging, arbitrage, and leverage, without hitting regulatory limits. This development is a strong signal that Bitcoin is moving beyond retail-focused investment products and into the domain of institutional-grade finance. As more players gain access to scaled derivatives, market dynamics are likely to become more efficient, and liquidity constraints that previously limited large trades are effectively removed.
At last, IBIT options is finally getting the treatment it deserves—
Nasdaq just filed to increase options limit to 1 MILLION (from 25k a year ago)
Institutional vol is finally here
Happy Thanksgiving https://t.co/vqH75rUTSfpic.twitter.com/MpCHxHMW8q
— Jeff Park (@dgt10011) November 26, 2025
More About the IBIT ETF
Bitcoin ETFs saw a strong day of activity, led by IBIT, which recorded 2.5 billion dollars in trading volume and ranked as the fifth most traded ETF in the entire market. This spike in activity shows how quickly institutional interest is growing and how products like Bitcoin ETFs are becoming major players in traditional finance.
U.S. 🇺🇸 Bitcoin ETFs with a strong day 👇 $IBIT 2/ $2.5 Billion trading volume & #5 of all ETFs ✅👇 pic.twitter.com/yHDM6HDntT
— HODL15Capital 🇺🇸 (@HODL15Capital) November 26, 2025
The surge also signals that demand for exposure to Bitcoin through regulated investment tools remains strong, even as market conditions shift.