SEC to review Nasdaq bitcoin options approval after CME challenge
CME argues that because bitcoin is a commodity, options tied to its value fall under CFTC jurisdiction, not the SEC's authority.
Source: CoinDesk
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DW NOTE
CME's challenge turns on a single claim: that cash-settled bitcoin options are commodity derivatives, not securities, and therefore belong to the CFTC alone. If that's right, the SEC had no authority to approve QBTC in May — and Nasdaq would need to either register as a futures exchange or redesign the contracts to track an ETF wrapper instead of the underlying asset. The approval is frozen while the SEC reconsiders. CME already runs the regulated bitcoin derivatives market; this is a turf defense dressed as jurisdictional principle.