(Bloomberg) — BlackRock Inc.’s iShares Bitcoin Trust has overtaken Coinbase Global Inc.’s Deribit platform as the largest venue for Bitcoin options, underscoring how the center of gravity in digital-asset markets is shifting from offshore platforms to Wall Street.
Open interest in options tied to the Nasdaq-listed IBIT stood at nearly $38 billion compared with $32 billion on Deribit, after Friday’s expiry of the contracts. Deribit, which was founded in 2016, had dominated Bitcoin options for years. The milestone comes less than a year after options opened on IBIT in November.
The ascent highlights a structural transformation in crypto, away from leverage-driven derivatives hubs and into the regulated core of the US financial system. With $84 billion in assets, IBIT is already the world’s largest Bitcoin ETF. Its rapid options growth is fueling a reinforcing cycle: more liquidity boosts legitimacy, which in turn draws further inflows.
George Mandres, senior trader at XBTO Trading said that the rise of Wall Street players in Bitcoin options is bringing “substantial capital and trading expertise,” deepening liquidity and tightening spreads. That shift, he added, is making markets more efficient while dampening the “volatility of volatility.” As traditional investors weigh Bitcoin against assets like currencies or gold, he sees scope for a broader structural decline in swings.
At the same time, Mandres cautioned that liquidity won’t consolidate entirely in the US “We expect two parallel ecosystems — one centered on regulated, TradFi products, and another in offshore and DeFi venues that continue to drive innovation for higher-risk participants,” he said.
Deribit — long the leading offshore derivatives venue, and acquired by Coinbase for about $2.9 billion in August — remains popular with crypto-native traders. But the shift in options leadership signals Wall Street’s growing dominance in Bitcoin markets.
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