What happened?
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has surpassed Deribit as the largest venue for Bitcoin options after last Friday’s expiries, with IBIT options showing nearly $38 billion in open interest versus about $32 billion on Deribit. This shift happened less than a year after IBIT options launched and comes as IBIT has become the world’s biggest Bitcoin ETF with massive inflows. The move signals a rapid rotation of liquidity toward regulated, US-listed products from traditional offshore venues.
Who does this affect?
Institutional investors, asset managers and corporate treasurers gain easier access to regulated hedging and trading through IBIT’s options, making it simpler to hold and hedge Bitcoin exposure without custody or wallet hassles. Crypto-native traders and offshore platforms like Deribit feel the impact as some liquidity and risk-taking migrate to regulated markets. Custodians, exchanges and service providers in the US financial ecosystem also stand to benefit from increased flows and reporting-tailored products.
Why does this matter?
This matters because shifting liquidity toward a regulated, ETF-centered options market can change price discovery, lower reliance on high-leverage offshore trading, and attract deeper institutional capital that can stabilize markets over time. A growing regulated options market makes hedging more accessible for large investors, which could reduce volatility around big moves and reshape how risk is managed in crypto portfolios. Ultimately, the market may split into a mainstream, regulated layer and a parallel speculative offshore layer, altering liquidity patterns, product pricing and regulatory oversight across the crypto ecosystem.