BlackRock’s IBIT Surpasses Deribit as Top Venue for Bitcoin Options

Open interest in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) options surged to nearly $38 billion following Friday’s expiry, overtaking Deribit, which had dominated BTC options markets since 2016 with $32 billion in open interest.

The milestone, less than a year after IBIT options launched in November, underscores how institutional capital and regulated frameworks are reshaping crypto derivatives trading.

IBIT, already the world’s largest spot bitcoin ETF with $84 billion in assets, has quickly become a hub for institutional flows. Its rapid growth is drawing liquidity into regulated U.S. markets, previously dominated by offshore venues.

While Deribit, acquired by Coinbase for $2.9 billion in August, remains the go-to platform for crypto-native traders, IBIT’s rise signals a structural shift. Options once concentrated in high-leverage offshore exchanges are increasingly anchored in U.S.-regulated products.

Data from Checkonchain shows IBIT’s leverage ratio hitting 45%, near all-time highs. The ETF holds 770,000 BTC, with options open interest totaling 340,000 BTC, meaning nearly half of IBIT’s underlying exposure is reflected in derivatives—a testament to the scale of speculative positioning tied to the ETF.

IBIT now accounts for 45% of global BTC options open interest, surpassing Deribit at 41.9%. The CME holds just 6%, with other exchanges making up the remainder. Together, IBIT and Deribit dominate nearly 90% of the bitcoin options market.

The trend highlights two key takeaways: the growing influence of IBIT in derivatives is reshaping market dynamics, and traditional institutional platforms like CME remain relatively small compared to ETF-driven and retail-heavy venues.