Greeks.live, a platform for trading crypto options, has dampened hopes of a significant Bitcoin (BTC) price surge if the United States Securities and Exchange Commission approves a spot BTC exchange-traded fund (ETF).
According to Greeks.live, recent market data from the trading platform indicates that despite speculation surrounding the SEC approving a Spot ETF application on Jan. 9, there has been little volatility in major term implied volatilities (IVs) and prices.
Term IV measures the market’s expectation of future price movements in options contracts.
According to Reuters, the U.S. SEC could contact the Bitcoin ETF applicants early next week. The development is anticipated to be crucial for the crypto market, enabling investors to trade Bitcoin-backed ETFs on regulated exchanges. However, Greeks.live pointed out the unexpectedly low market activity in reaction to the news.
There is news in the market that the SEC will pass the Bitcoin Spot ETF application as early as next Tuesday, but there was little volatility across the major term IVs and the price.
— Greeks.live (@GreeksLive) December 31, 2023
Looking at the options data, Jan12 options IV, which is strongly correlated to the ETF, fell… pic.twitter.com/f1B4ZPC05d
The data showed that the implied volatility for Jan. 12 options, closely tied to the prospective launch of the ETF, decreased instead of rising. Moreover, the trading volume was significantly low, making up only 2% of the day’s total turnover.
Related: JPMorgan CEO criticized for Bitcoin ETF role amid anti-crypto comments
Drawing from these insights, Greeks.live asserted that the market has already considered the potential approval of the spot Bitcoin ETF. In simpler terms, participants in the market have expected the occurrence and modified their positions accordingly, resulting in an actual approval having a limited impact on prices and volatility.
Asset managers BlackRock, Valkyrie and Van Eck submitted amended S-1 forms to the SEC on Dec. 29, the final day for the SEC to consider them in January 2024, with Invesco Galaxy, Bitwise, WisdomTree and Fidelity following.
BlackRock's updated filing named Jane Street and JPMorgan Securities as “authorized participants” in its proposed ETF. BlackRock has already specified that it will use a cash-only model. It was the first user to settle a trade on JPMorgan’s Tokenized Collateral Network service on Oct. 11.