Nakamoto Inc. (NASDAQ: NAKA) has disclosed details of an actively managed Bitcoin options program it has been running since Q1 2026, putting part of its BTC treasury to work to generate income and hedge downside risk.
What the program does
- A defined slice of Nakamoto’s Bitcoin holdings is held in Kraken’s qualified custody and pledged as collateral into a separately managed account (SMA) run by Bitwise Asset Management.
- Under a single mandate, Nakamoto and Bitwise jointly trade a mix of listed and over‑the‑counter Bitcoin derivatives, with limits on notional exposure (expressed as a percentage of total BTC holdings) and guardrails for instruments, counterparties, and tenors.
- The program has two sleeves:
- Income sleeve: writes covered calls and call spreads against a portion of the BTC stack to harvest implied volatility as recurring premium income. Position sizing, strikes and expiries follow the company’s risk framework.
- Hedging sleeve: buys protective puts and put spreads on a portion of the holdings to reduce mark‑to‑market exposure over defined horizons. Premiums for these puts may be partially funded by the income from call writing.
Why Nakamoto says it’s doing it
Nakamoto framed the strategy on X by calling Bitcoin’s implied volatility “one of the most persistently mispriced assets in global markets.” The goal is straightforward: generate volatility income while hedging part of the treasury’s downside exposure.
Operational and financial details
- Premiums received can be paid in Bitcoin or U.S. dollars.
- Proceeds may be reinvested into Nakamoto’s Bitcoin treasury, used to cover operating costs (including interest expense), or held as working capital.
- Performance metrics for the program’s Q1 2026 run will be reported in Nakamoto’s next 10‑Q filing.
Why it matters to crypto markets
- This is a high‑profile example of a public “Bitcoin operating company” applying a covered‑call plus put‑hedge framework—an approach long used by commodity producers and gold ETFs—directly to a corporate BTC balance sheet through regulated managers and qualified custody.
- It highlights Bitwise’s role as an institutional bridge between traditional derivatives infrastructure and on‑chain exposure as more corporates experiment with Bitcoin on their books.
- The setup demonstrates how treasuries can treat Bitcoin not just as a passive store of value but as yield‑bearing collateral: upside on the covered portion is capped, but the company gains recurring cash flow and partial downside protection.
What to watch next
Look for the forthcoming 10‑Q for performance figures and any further disclosures on sizing, realized premiums, and how the program impacts Nakamoto’s overall treasury profile. The industry will be watching whether other public companies follow with similar structured programs.
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