Move Over Nvidia, Coinbase Attracts Biggest Option Block Trade: Options Chatter

Luzi Ann Santos joined discussion · Jun 11 01:53

$Coinbase (COIN.US)$ attracted the biggest block trades in the options market Tuesday, with premiums surpassing those paid for contracts linked to Nvidia, as the Senate committee hearing got underway for the nomination of President Donald Trump's pick for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The biggest block trade was posted at 2:35:11 p.m. The transaction had an active seller receiving an $83.4 million premium for issuing call options that give the holders the right to buy 2.95 million Coinbase shares at $250 by Aug. 15.

That trade was bigger than the $43 million premium paid for $Apple (AAPL.US)$ put options expiring in 10 days, and more than triple the $22.6 million paid for $NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$ call options.

(To see the unusual options activities, click here. For Coinbase's options chain, click here and find Nvidia's here.)

Move Over Nvidia, Coinbase Attracts Biggest Option Block Trade: Options Chatter

The bearish Coinbase trades exceeded the premiums paid earlier for bullish call options with the same strike price, also expiring in 66 days. Those conflicting positions helped push the volume of that contract to 46,440, more than 24X the open interest.

In his testimony before the Senate agriculture committee, Brian Quintenz, Trump's pick to lead the CFTC, pledged to “provide clarity of how the agency’s statutory objectives could be successfully leveraged through this technology.”

“Blockchain and crypto tokens are here to stay and will allow individuals to own their digital intellectual property, their digital identities, and the value of their contributions to networks,” Quintenz told the Senate committee Tuesday. “That value can only be realized if holders of those products have markets with integrity in which they can transact and have clear rules of the road to build without fear of regulation by enforcement.”

The nominee is currently the global head of crypto policy at venture capital Andreessen Horowitz's crypto arm a16z, a position he said he will vacate if confirmed as CFTC chairman.

"Quintenz will likely work with the SEC in the interim to determine what, if anything, can be done to improve clarity for the crypto industry," Bloomberg Intelligence government analyst Nathan Dean wrote in a note Monday. "At a minimum, enforcement risk will likely decrease, and Quintenz will make it a priority to try and spur innovation in the sector."

Coinbase shares have climbed 73% from a 52-week low as $Bitcoin (BTC.CC)$ prices resumed its march toward an all-time high, buoyed by optimism of a regulatory regime that could be favorable to the crypto market.

Share your thoughts on what's attracting big trades on Coinbase. Are Trump's crypto policies enough to sustain the rally? Let your voice be heard by voting below. And if you want to read more options columns like this one on MicroStrategy, or this one on Palantir, follow me here.

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