Nasdaq Requests Increase in IBIT Option Limits – ARK Invest Maintains $1.5 Million Bitcoin Price Target

Institutional Demand for Bitcoin Products Continues to Rise

Growing institutional demand for Bitcoin products is evident in two notable developments: Nasdaq has filed a request with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a substantial increase in option position limits for BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF IBIT, while ARK Invest maintains its bullish long-term price forecast despite recent market corrections.

Nasdaq ISE has requested to increase position limits for IBIT options from the current 250,000 contracts to one million contracts^[2]. The exchange justifies this move with significantly increased trading volumes and growing needs of institutional market participants.

Strong Growth Requires Higher Limits

In its filing, ISE argues that IBIT has experienced accelerated options volumes this year, and existing caps now restrict market makers and institutional trading departments that rely on options hedging and yield-generating strategies^[2].

The exchange presented a detailed analysis of various market statistics for IBIT, including market capitalization, average daily volume, and liquidity compared to ETFs that already have limits of one million contracts^[2]. Regarding market manipulation risk, ISE noted that even a fully exercised position of one million contracts would represent only approximately 7.5 percent of total IBIT float and merely 0.284 percent of all existing Bitcoin^[2].

IBIT Dominates U.S. Bitcoin ETF Market

IBIT has become the preferred vehicle for traditional investors to gain access to cryptocurrencies through regulated investment products. Although multiple U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs exist in the market, IBIT is by far the largest measured by cumulative inflows^[2].

Data from Farside Investors shows that IBIT has recorded total inflows of $62.68 billion since its launch in early 2024. The second-largest fund in this regard is Fidelity's FBTC with cumulative inflows of $11.96 billion^[2].

ARK Invest Maintains Bullish Forecast

Despite recent cryptocurrency market corrections, ARK Invest maintains its ambitious Bitcoin price target. In early April, the company predicted a Bitcoin price target of $1.5 million by 2030 in its "Bull Case" scenario, while the "Bear Case" scenario suggests a price target of $300,000^[1].

Cathie Wood, CEO and Chief Investment Officer of ARK Invest, stated during a webinar on Monday: "Stablecoins have accelerated and are taking away some of the roles for Bitcoin that we expected," but added: "However, gold's price development was significantly larger than we anticipated. Bottom line, our bull price, which most people focus on, has really not changed."^[1]

Liquidity Bottleneck Could Soon Ease

Wood wrote in a post on X on Thursday that the current "liquidity bottleneck" limiting the upward movement in cryptocurrency and AI markets should "reverse in the coming weeks"^[1].

Analysts remain cautiously optimistic. Iliya Kalchev, analyst at digital asset platform Nexo, told Cointelegraph that cryptocurrency markets will continue to lack clear direction until Bitcoin can reclaim the $92,000 level, which "could open the door to a broader recovery if macroeconomic conditions align"^[1].