Blackrock's options bets amounting to 44 billion USD indicate that traders believe$iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT.US)$ that it has the potential to break more records. Bloomberg compiled data shows that after the iShares bitcoin etf options were listed on nasdaq on Tuesday, more than 0.35 million contracts changed hands, with about 80% being call bets. $Bitcoin (BTC.CC)$

Nine out of the top 10 largest options bets are bullish. The most active trading is for options expiring in January next year, with a strike price of $55, followed by call options expiring in December with a strike price of $65 — 25% higher than the fund's closing price on Monday.

Boosted by the listing of ETF options, bitcoin broke above $94,000 on Tuesday, setting a new all-time high. Some investors expect that the US Bitcoin ETF options will attract more inflows into this digital asset. Following Donald Trump's win in the US presidential election, the price of bitcoin soared. Some analysts believe that bitcoin is poised to reach the milestone of $100,000 by the end of this year.

Caroline Mauron, co-founder of Orbit Markets, a provider of crypto derivatives liquidity, stated that the options trading volume is a "good start", indicating the increasing connection between the native crypto ecosystem and the traditional financial world. The trading volume itself is not yet sufficient to drive the direction of the underlying assets, but positive news undoubtedly boosts bullish sentiment.

Bitcoin funds crazily attracting capital

Reportedly, the iShares Bitcoin ETF is the world's largest bitcoin fund and one of 12 US spot bitcoin ETFs. Data compiled by Bloomberg shows that since its debut in January this year, the fund has attracted about $29 billion in net inflows. Around $5 billion of the inflows occurred after the US election on November 5th.

Trump promises to establish a US regulatory framework favorable to digital assets and to set up a Bitcoin strategic reserve. However, the uncertainty remains about whether these promises can be fulfilled.

Up to now, platforms like Binance and Deribit, which are non-US-based, have dominated a significant portion of the trading in crypto derivatives. However, the open interest in futures contracts held by CME Group has reached a historical high, indicating a growing interest from US institutions in regulated exposure to crypto.

"Crypto Is Macro Now" newsletter author Noelle Acheson states: "The Bitcoin derivatives market is very active, but in the US, the scale of Bitcoin derivatives is still relatively small compared to other asset classes, and mainly limited to institutional investors." She adds that a deeper US cryptocurrency derivatives market will attract new groups of investors and enable more diversified investment strategies.

As of this report, the trading price of bitcoin is $93,207.24. According to CoinGecko, bitcoin has more than doubled this year, bringing the overall value of the crypto market above its peak during the pandemic.

Editor/rice