BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has officially taken the top spot in Bitcoin options trading, surpassing Coinbase-owned Deribit. As of the latest figures, IBIT’s options open interest has soared to nearly $38 billion, overtaking Deribit’s $32 billion after the most recent contract expiry.
This milestone is particularly significant because IBIT options only launched in November of last year, making the rapid growth a clear sign of shifting dynamics in the crypto market.
A Structural Shift Toward Regulated Crypto Trading
The rise of IBIT as the top venue for Bitcoin options marks a major turning point in crypto market structure. The transition reflects a broader trend: Bitcoin trading is steadily moving away from offshore, high-leverage platforms like Deribit and into regulated financial environments dominated by traditional players like BlackRock.
IBIT is already the world’s largest Bitcoin ETF, managing $84 billion in assets, and its growing options market is reinforcing a positive feedback loop. Increased liquidity attracts more institutional investors, which in turn strengthens market depth, tightens bid-ask spreads, and reduces the kind of extreme volatility that has long characterized crypto.
Wall Street’s Growing Influence on Bitcoin Markets
Wall Street’s entrance into crypto, led by products like IBIT, is reshaping Bitcoin’s trading landscape. Traditional financial institutions bring both scale and regulatory oversight, which appeals to large investors who have historically stayed on the sidelines.
However, experts caution that platforms like Deribit are not going away. Offshore venues will continue to serve as hotbeds for innovation and higher-risk strategies, offering flexibility that regulated platforms may lack. Still, the growing dominance of traditional finance in crypto signals a maturing market that is becoming more integrated with the global financial system.
As institutional involvement deepens and regulated products like IBIT grow, the line between traditional finance and crypto continues to blur — with Bitcoin now more at home on Wall Street than ever before.
