The Securities and Exchange Commission approved Nasdaq's proposal to list Bitcoin index options on the Philadelphia Stock Exchange (Phlx) on an accelerated basis, the agency posted Friday. The contracts, trading under the ticker QBTC, are European-style and cash-settled. But there's a catch: trading won't start until the Commodity Futures Trading Commission grants exemptive relief, because Bitcoin is classified as a commodity under CFTC jurisdiction.
How the QBTC contracts work
The options are tied to the Nasdaq Bitcoin Index, which tracks one one-hundredth of the CME CF BTC Real Time Index, updated every 200 milliseconds. They're cash-settled, meaning buyers receive the difference between the Bitcoin spot price and the strike price at expiration — no actual Bitcoin exchanged. The minimum price increment is one cent, and the position limit is 24,000 contracts per side, roughly 0.12% of Bitcoin's total supply.
Why the CFTC has the final say
The jurisdictional split isn't academic. In an October comment letter, CME Group argued the new contracts fall under the CFTC's exclusive authority. The SEC pushed back, citing shared jurisdiction over mixed swaps and security futures, and referenced Section 717 of the Dodd-Frank Act. So before QBTC can trade, the CFTC must sign off on exemptive relief — a hurdle that could take weeks or months.
A shift in SEC posture under Atkins
The approval reflects a broader shift at the SEC under Chairman Paul Atkins. The agency has dropped enforcement cases against crypto firms and called for clearer rules to support innovation. Reports indicate the SEC is preparing an 'innovation exemption' to allow tokenized trading of public company shares on decentralized platforms, even without company consent. This is all part of that pivot.
The Philadelphia Stock Exchange will host the QBTC contracts once both the SEC and CFTC have signed off. For now, the clock is on the CFTC.
