🚀 Nasdaq Seeks 4x IBIT Limits

The request Nasdaq’s International Securities Exchange (ISE) filed with the SEC asks for an increase in the position limits from 250,000 contracts to 1,000,000.

If passed, it would herald one of the largest structural enhancements to Bitcoin’s derivatives market since US spot ETFs came into play, in effect allowing large funds/hedge desks/market makers to size their books well beyond today’s limit.

And Nasdaq isn’t stopping there.

🧨 Nasdaq also asked for no limits at all

It the same filing, ISE asked the SEC to eliminate limits altogether for physically settled, customized FLEX options, those that are used by institutions for structured hedges.

The exchange contends this would finally bring IBIT into line with commodities ETFs such as GLD and USO, while finally drawing substantial options trading volume from opaque OTC desks and onto regulated markets.

The ISE cited IBIT's size and maturity:

• $86.2B market cap

• 44.6M average daily volume

• BlackRock holding $71B+ in BTC

With higher limits, institutional traders would be able to take a position the equivalent of about 8% of all BlackRock’s bitcoin holdings, a “standard and conservative” ratio for mega-ETFs.

The public comment period for the SEC rule ends on December 17, 2025.

ETF analysts are already calling it historic.

📉 Outflows surged but big investors aren’t fleeing

The filing comes as IBIT reports over $2B in monthly outflows and its primary ETF wallet is down from the prior Intraday high of $117B to just $78.4B, a 30%+ retracement on Bitcoin’s recent 22% decline.

But analysts say the concerns are exaggerated.

Balchunas noted that:

• Most investors remain long

• Short interest collapsed: shorts covered as BTC dipped

• Trading activity remains dominant

In the last week, US spot bitcoin ETFs traded $40.32B. BlackRock’s IBIT, accounted for $27.79B or ~70% of all pieces traded.

The message?

Investors are not fleeing IBIT, they’re waiting for clearer macro signals.

📌 Why this matters

If the SEC approves the 4X limit boost:

• Bitcoin options deepen and become more liquid

• Institutional hedging becomes easier

• ETF-based volatility markets expand

• More trading moving on-exchange, not OTC

• Crypto inches another step closer to old-school commodities infrastructure

Europe’s largest asset manager goes on-chain

Amundi, the largest asset manager in Europe, has tokenized a €5 billion money market fund on Ethereum, one of the strongest signals yet that TradFi is heading for the chain.

The AMUNDI FUNDS CASH EUR is already in place under two versions: traditional units versus tokenized units, CACEIS providing on-chain issuance and settlement, as well as 24/7 subscriptions in stablecoins or future CBDCs.

This is conservative capital - money funds, not speculative assets quietly flowing toward Ethereum for efficiency, instant settlement and global accessibility.

And it’s part of a broader trend: tokenized money market funds have already grown to become a $9B category (and counting) in 2025, even as the BIS warns of systemic implications.

The gist: Europe’s largest asset manager using Ethereum is the quiet signal for the world that tokenisation is getting serious and could be a big source of revenue in the future for ETH, being the preferred chain.

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