Wall Street Shows Strong Appetite for Bitcoin Options Tied to BlackRock’s IBIT

BlackRock’s IBIT Tops Deribit as Largest Bitcoin Options Market

Open interest in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) options surged to nearly $38 billion after Friday’s expiry, surpassing Deribit, which had long led BTC options with $32 billion. The flip comes less than a year after IBIT options launched in November, highlighting the growing dominance of institutional capital in crypto derivatives.

IBIT, already the world’s largest spot bitcoin ETF with $84 billion in assets, has rapidly attracted institutional flows, channeling liquidity into regulated U.S. markets. Deribit, acquired by Coinbase for $2.9 billion in August, remains popular with crypto-native traders, but IBIT’s rise signals a structural shift toward U.S.-based regulated trading.

According to Checkonchain, IBIT’s leverage ratio has reached 45%, near record levels. The ETF holds 770,000 BTC, with 340,000 BTC in options open interest—nearly half of its holdings reflected in derivatives, underscoring the scale of speculative activity linked to the fund.

IBIT now represents 45% of global BTC options open interest, overtaking Deribit at 41.9%, while CME accounts for only 6%. Combined, IBIT and Deribit dominate almost 90% of the bitcoin options market, demonstrating the concentration of activity in these two venues.

The development highlights two key trends: IBIT’s rapid growth is reshaping BTC derivatives markets, and traditional institutional platforms like CME remain relatively small compared with ETF-driven and retail-focused venues.