BlackRock Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) Options Data Signals Rising Interest in BTC Over Gold Now

BlackRock Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) options have surged to become the ninth largest in the U.S. market as of Tuesday. IBIT options have even surpassed gold ETFs, indicating a shift in sentiment towards Bitcoin over gold, following the latest 30% crash.

BlackRock Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) Options Data Signals Rising Demand

BlackRock Bitcoin ETF options reclaimed the top 10 U.S. ranking after a significant rise in open interests and trading volume.

As of February 10, a total of 7.33 million IBIT contracts were active or open, the ninth largest tally among options tied to U.S.-listed stocks, ETFs, and indices, according to Barchart data.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that Gold prices eased on Tuesday as improved risk appetite lifted global equities, while investors await US jobs and CPI inflation data later this week that could hint at an interest rate cut outlook.

“The start of the week has been marked by a resurgence in risk appetite across financial markets, reflected in gains in equity indices, which has weighed on gold prices,” said ActivTrades analyst Ricardo Evangelista.

BlackRock Bitcoin ETF saw record volume of more than 284 million shares, exceeding $10 billion in notional value. This represented a 169% surge over the previous record set in November last year.

On Monday, spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $144.9 million in net inflows, ending an outflow streak and marking two consecutive days of positive inflows. However, BlackRock Bitcoin ETF recorded $20.9 million in redemptions.

IBIT Options Open Interest Surpasses Gold ETFs

IBIT options trading increased more than the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) and VanEck Gold Miners ETFs. Even though Wall Street sees gold hitting as high as $8000, with BNP Paribas predicting gold to climb to $6,000 by the end of 2026.

Options open interest tied to the SPDR Gold Shares ETF stood at 6.44 million, lower than IBIT. BlackRock Bitcoin ETF has a put/call ratio of 0.64, while the SPDR Gold ETF has a put/call ratio of 0.50.

Among stocks, ETFs, and indexes with the highest total options open interest, the S&P 500 index, State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, and NVIDIA are leading amid heightened volatility and uncertainty.

As CoinGape reported, JPMorgan’s Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou claimed Gold’s massive outperformance makes Bitcoin more attractive over the long term. He claimed that the Bitcoin-to-gold volatility ratio slipped to a record low of 1.5. Once the current negative sentiment subsides, BTC will begin rallying towards $266,000.

At the time of writing, BTC price is trading more than 0.50% higher at $68,855. The 24-hour low and high are $68,291 and $71,076, respectively.