SEC greenlights options trading on spot Ethereum ETFs including ones from BlackRock, Bitwise and Grayscale

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has approved options trading on spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds.

In an "accelerated approval" filed on Wednesday, the SEC said Nasdaq ISE, LLC's filing for options trading for the iShares Ethereum Trust was permitted. The agency also approved a proposal from NYSE American LLC to trade options on the Bitwise Ethereum ETF, the Grayscale Ethereum Trust and the Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust.

"... the Commission finds that the proposed rule change, as modified by Amendment No. 2, is consistent with the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations thereunder applicable to a national securities exchange and, in particular, the requirements of Section 6(b)(5) of the Act," the agency said in the later filing.

Eight spot Ethereum ETF was approved almost a year ago and began trading over the summer. Firms have since been vying for options trading to be allowed. The SEC also greenlit spot bitcoin ETFs over a year ago and later allowed options trading for those products later in 2024.

The SEC's approval of spot Ethereum ETFs was expected, said Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst James Seyffart in a post on X. Nate Geraci, president of the ETF Store, said more launches are to come.

"Like w/ btc ETFs, expect to see a bunch of new launches from issuers," Geraci said on Wednesday in a post on X. "Covered call strategy eth ETFs, buffer eth ETFs, etc."

The price of ether had dropped over the past few days to around $1,400 but rebounded on Wednesday to around $1,650, according to The Block's ETH price page .