ting on a stack of BTC that isn’t generating a single dollar of cash flow flies against the most basic rule of wealth generation. Anything you own can be rented to someone else for the appropriate revenue.
If you’re not collecting rent on your Bitcoin, you’re missing the whole point of owning an asset in one of the most volatile markets in financial history.
Let me break it down in simple terms.
How Many Bitcoin ETFs Exist — and Which Ones Let You Trade Options?
As of today in June 2025, you’ve got 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs approved by the SEC in the U.S. – BlackRock’s IBIT, Fidelity’s FBTC, Grayscale’s GBTC, ARKB, BITB, EZBC, HODL, BRRR, BTCW — and a couple more. They all hit the tape together in early 2024.
Before that, starting back in October 2021, the SEC greenlit the first Bitcoin futures ETFs — ProShares, Valkyrie, VanEck-style things. But for real crypto-purity — holding actual Bitcoin — you’re dealing with those eleven spot funds.
Now, when did real traders get to play in the volatility sandbox?
That was October 18, 2024, when Options on those spot Bitcoin ETFs got the official thumbs-up.
It’s a simple equation:
- spot Bitcoin ETFs + Options = Where volatility and opportunity live
Right now, several Bitcoin ETFs have listed Options trading available on U.S. exchanges. These typically include both spot Bitcoin ETFs and futures-based Bitcoin ETFs. Here’s a breakdown of the most notable ones:
✅ Spot Bitcoin ETFs with Listed Options:
These ETFs hold actual Bitcoin as the underlying asset.
- iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) – from BlackRock
📈 Options Available: Yes
- Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC)
📈 Options Available: Yes
- Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB)
📈 Options Available: Yes
- VanEck Bitcoin Trust (HODL)
📈 Options Available: Yes
- ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB)
📈 Options Available: Yes
✅ Futures-Based Bitcoin ETFs with Options:
These ETFs track Bitcoin futures contracts rather than spot BTC.
- ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO)
📈 Options Available: Yes
📝 This was the first Bitcoin futures ETF and remains very liquid.
- VanEck Bitcoin Strategy ETF (XBTF)
📈 Options Available: Limited, check your broker
Options = Volatility = Opportunity
Options are not for shrinking violets or crypto tourists. This is the heartbeat of real market makers, hedge funds, and sharp traders who don’t just want price movement — they need it.
Volatility in Bitcoin? It’s not a bug. It’s a feature. It’s the catapult that powers Option premiums. The wilder the swings, the fatter the premiums, and the richer the opportunities for income-focused traders.
If you know how to define opportunity, you can harvest those premiums like a seasoned landlord collecting rent. You sell calls, you pocket monthly cash, and you do it again. That volatility doesn’t scare you — it feeds you.
Volatility is the lifeblood of options premiums. You don’t need a PhD in derivatives to understand this — you just need to know that wild price swings are what make Option buyers shell out big bucks for the chance to own your BTC at a higher price later.
And guess what? Bitcoin is volatile.
That chaos — the same one that gives weak hands the cold sweats — is a gift for those of us smart enough to sell covered calls on it.
Because covered calls aren’t boring boomer tactics. They’re a way to make your Bitcoin work for you, while it chops, churns, and frustrates everyone else.
Owning Bitcoin and doing nothing with it is like owning prime beachfront real estate and refusing to rent it out because “real wealth comes from appreciation.”
Meanwhile, smarter investors are leasing their properties, pocketing monthly cash, and stacking profits like clockwork.
Covered calls are how you rent out your Bitcoin. You keep ownership. You keep upside — up to a point. But every time you sell a call, you collect a premium. Cold, hard cash. No waiting, no hopium.
If Bitcoin drifts sideways or even rises slightly? You win.
If it rips through your strike price? You still win — you sell at a profit and pocketed premium along the way.
And if it drops? Well, guess what — you got paid to wait.
It’s about harvesting the volatility instead of just tolerating it.
The Bitcoin Growth Rate That Wall Street Wishes It Could Ignore
Let me throw a number at you that should knock the wind out of your lungs — 50% annualized growth.
That’s what Bitcoin has done since its inception. Not for a quarter. Not for a year. For over 15 years.
And going forward? The forecast is still smoking hot — analysts expect a 29% annualized return from here on out.
Let me repeat that: while your bank’s giving you a glorified participation trophy in the form of a 4% CD, Bitcoin is still projected to compound at 29% a year.
That’s not just a “nice-to-have” number. That’s hypothetical life-changing growth. But here’s the catch that too many crypto fanboys don’t want to talk about…
That kind of upside doesn’t come without chaos.
Big Returns = Big Volatility = Big Opportunity
You want moonshots? Fine. But don’t you dare ignore the turbulence on the way up.
Bitcoin isn’t a steady dividend stock. It doesn’t walk. It lunges, leaps, and sometimes crashes through the floor before clawing its way back to all-time highs.
That’s where most retail traders curl up into the fetal position.
But the smart ones? They smell blood in the water. Because volatility doesn’t just create fear — it creates premium.
And premium is the fuel of a covered call strategy.
The Anatomy of a Covered Call: How to Get Paid to Own Volatility
Here’s how this works in the real world — no fluff.
- I Own the asset. In this case, a Bitcoin ETF like the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT). I can’t write covered calls on raw BTC (yet), but I can on IBIT.
- Sell a Call Option. That means I’m giving someone the right, not the obligation, to buy the ETF at a higher price within a set time frame. I’m basically saying, “Hey, if this thing goes nuts, I own it at $65, you can have it at $70… but you’ve got to pay me right now for that privilege.”
- Pocket the premium. That’s the rent check. Up front. No IOUs. And the crazier the market, the bigger the check. Premiums on IBIT? Easily 4% – 6% per month, sometimes more.
- Sit back and watch.
- If the ETF stays flat or drops? I keep the premium. Lather, rinse, repeat.
- If it rises but doesn’t breach the strike price? I keep the premium and the ETF.
- If it explodes past the strike? Premium + sale at a higher price. Yeah, upside is capped but I also locked in a profit.
This is how income traders can theoretically tame a wild beast like Bitcoin. Not betting on direction. Betting on the market being irrational and emotional — and last time I checked that’s Wall Street’s default setting.
Here is what the risk/reward profile looks like which allows you to see ownership of the ETF only versus selling a Call Option against the ETF.
In an era where passive investing and digital assets dominate headlines, a more nuanced — yet increasingly popular — strategy is gaining traction among sophisticated retail investors and professional traders alike: selling Covered Call Options.
At its core, this approach involves owning a Bitcoin-linked ETF — like BITO, IBIT, or ARKB — and selling Call Options against that position. When you sell a Call Option, you’re granting someone else the right, though not the obligation, to buy your ETF shares from you at a predetermined price (the strike price) by a specific date (the expiration).
In return for this contract, you receive a premium cash payment deposited into your account up front. This premium becomes your immediate income. It’s not theoretical or delayed. It’s a realized return, detached from whether the price of Bitcoin rises, falls, or goes nowhere at all.
But income doesn’t come without strings.
The Trade-Off: Income Now, Upside Later (Maybe)
By selling a call, you agree to sell your position at the strike price. So, if Bitcoin — or the ETF tracking it — soars past your strike, you’re obligated to sell at that agreed-upon level, even if the open market is paying more.
In a runaway bull market, that can mean leaving money on the table.
But here’s the nuance: this is not the end of the trade — it’s the beginning of the next.
Seasoned traders who use this strategy don’t get rattled when an ETF gets “called away.” They simply move their capital back in, reposition at a higher strike, and repeat the cycle. The goal isn’t to catch every dollar of upside — it’s to generate consistent, measurable cash flow while preserving exposure to the asset.
Why This Strategy Fits Bitcoin’s True Market Character
This is where Bitcoin’s unique behavioral profile enters the equation.
Despite the headlines about parabolic moves and all-time highs, the reality is that Bitcoin spends most of its time not rallying, but consolidating or declining. Historical data reveals that bearish or sideways conditions make up nearly two-thirds of its trading life cycle.
And that’s precisely when covered call writing thrives.
When the market is flat, volatile, or trending modestly downward, the premiums are rich due to elevated implied volatility — but the probability of assignment (being forced to sell at the strike price) is lower. This creates an ideal income environment. Traders are essentially getting paid to wait while their underlying Bitcoin exposure stabilizes or recovers.
It’s a calculated income overlay — a strategy that pairs well with long-term belief in the digital asset’s future but demands a short-term realism about its path.
Here is a chart of the $IBIT ETF which is managed by BlackRock. I have taken the liberty of illustrating the uninterrupted declines and measuring them. With these types of drawdowns occurring regularly this covered call writing strategy protects capital and generates income even in these difficult market conditions.
Conclusion: A Strategy Rooted in Discipline, Designed for Durability
Conclusion: A Strategy Rooted in Discipline, Designed for Durability
In a market obsessed with narratives and moonshots, selling Call Options offers something rare: the opportunity for predictable income.
It’s not about outguessing the next price spike. It’s about understanding market structure, using volatility as a revenue source, and accepting a trade-off between unlimited upside and controlled, tangible returns.
In the long arc of Bitcoin’s evolution — from fringe idea to institutional asset — there’s always been volatility. Now, there’s a way to capitalize on that volatility, even when price appreciation slows.
And for traders who understand that capital preservation and cash flow are often more powerful than raw speculation, selling calls is less a hedge — and more a sophisticated business model.
Done with intention.
Just like any good financial decision should be.
A covered call strategy lets me:
- Stay bullish on Bitcoin’s long-term potential
- Generate income while I wait
- Protect myself from drawdowns by reducing my cost basis every time I collect premium by selling the Call Option.
Covered calls provide a seat at the Bitcoin table. Volatility hands the menu. And premium? That’s the steak on the plate.
Here’s the Risk-Reward Play That Wall Street Doesn’t Bother to Explain
Let’s say you step into the ring and buy the $IBIT ETF at $65. You’re long Bitcoin, you believe in the upside, but you’re not just sitting around singing kumbaya and hoping for a breakout. You’re a trader — you want action.
So, what do you do in this hypothetical example?
You sell the $70 call for $5.
Boom. Right there, before the ink’s dry on the trade ticket, $5 per share.
That $5 premium just dropped the cost basis from $65 down to $60.
Read that again. You didn’t just buy Bitcoin exposure… you bought it at a discount, and you got paid for the privilege.
The Power of the Buffer: This Is Why Professionals Love This Play
Now here’s the part that rookie traders miss — and the part that makes this strategy so powerful:
Even if $IBIT drops to $60, guess what? You’re still breakeven at expiration.
Why? Because that $5 premium is acting like armor. It’s cushion. The market can punch and knock the ETF down by five bucks… and you’re still standing there, unfazed.
That’s not just risk management. That’s leverage.
And let’s not forget: if the ETF goes up and finishes under $70? Keep the shares, keep the premium, and live to sell another call next month.
If it finishes above $70? Congrats, $5 capital gain plus the $5 premium.
That’s a $10 return on a $60 net cost. Up 16.6% in a single trade cycle.
Final Word: This Is How Real Traders Do It
The IBIT setup? It’s textbook. It’s the trader’s version of harvesting volatility and saying:
“You wanna swing? Fine. I get paid either way.”
Covered calls won’t turn you into a crypto millionaire overnight.
And in a market as erratic and headline-driven as Bitcoin, strategies like this can be necessary.
The Bottom Line
The Bitcoin game has changed. Institutions are here. Options markets are maturing. Retail traders now have access to tools that used to be reserved for the Wall Street elite.
Covered calls aren’t just for stock portfolios anymore. They’re for the Bitcoin holders who are tired of watching the market yo-yo and doing nothing but hope.
If you’ve got conviction in Bitcoin’s long-term value, then know you could start collecting rent on it.
Stop worshipping volatility and start harvesting it.
Here’s the deal about covered call writing once you truly get it —
You might win in 3 out of 4 scenarios.
Yeah. Let that sink in. You’re playing a rigged game — and now you’re the house.
You’re potentially getting paid to manage probabilities.
It’s not hype. It’s not a fad. It’s a method that could stack the odds in your favor — day after day.
Here’s how it might look:
- Consult the A.I.’s ultra-precise 1–3 day forecast.
- Execute a low-risk Covered Call trade with confidence.
- Position before the herd even knows what’s coming.
- Manage risk with clarity, not guesswork.
- Repeat.
No fireworks. No heroics. Just a calm, repeatable strategy — bite by bite, trade by trade.
It’s the same kind of elegant simplicity that’s helped small traders grow their accounts — without needing to be right all the time, and without chasing headlines or hype.
Artificial Intelligence. Machine Learning. Neural Networks.
These aren’t buzzwords anymore. They’re essential tools for protecting your portfolio and uncovering smart trades with remarkable precision.
The most important thing you need to know before you pull the trigger on any trade is this — what’s the trend?
That’s your compass, your anchor, your North Star in the chaos of the market. Now listen close — if we’re in a raging bull market, prices screaming higher like they’ve been shot out of a cannon, this ain’t the time to be capping your upside with covered calls. You back off.
But if the market’s grinding sideways or sagging like a wet mattress — and trust me, Bitcoin spends most of its life doing just that — then this is where the magic happens. This is the landlord strategy.
And while economists and market pundits bicker about abstract theories and “what might happen,” I stay loyal to one thing: the trend.
Because the trend doesn’t care about opinions, it just shows up. And VantagePoint A.I. lets you see it coming.
It’s a powerful combination: the precision of A.I. + the reliability of covered calls = a trader’s edge that feels almost unfair.
Curious to see it in action?
Join us at our next live training.
Simple. Smart. Strategic.
Exactly the kind of advantage a smart trade would never pass up.
It’s not magic. It’s machine learning.
Make it count.
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