Bitcoin Traders’ New Favorite: The $80K Put Option Saga 🚀

by

What to ponder upon, dear reader:
  • The $80,000 put option, a veritable bastion for the wary, now boasts10,278 contracts, amounting to a staggering $864.26 million in open interest on Deribit, the highest amongst its peers. 🎩
  • Traders, like sailors eyeing a storm, are seeking refuge in downside protection amidst the economic tempest and whispers of trade skirmishes. ⛵

Ah, the crypto market, a fickle beast if ever there was one! Just when you think you’ve grasped its idiosyncrasies, it pirouettes like a prima ballerina. On Deribit’s grand stage, the $80,000 bitcoin (BTC) put option, a shield against the ravages of depreciation, has donned the crown of popularity.

What a volte-face from the dawn of this year, when call options promising riches at six-figure thresholds were the darlings of the speculative dance.

As we pen these words, a veritable army of10,278 contracts stands ready, a testament to a notional open interest of $864.26 million, as told by the scribes at Amberdata. This makes it the belle of the ball on Deribit, where each contract waltzes with a single BTC.

This marks a stark repositioning from January’s reverie, when dreamers bet heavy on the $120,000 call, their hopes nearing $1.5 billion. Last month, the $100,000 call was the reigning monarch.

Such a shift in stance! Traders have re-evaluated their lofty aspirations amidst the market’s melancholy and ongoing economic uncertainty. BTC, the noble steed, stumbled, falling11.66% in the first quarter, even dipping below the $80,000 mark as President Trump’s tariff drama played out on Wall Street, much to the dismay of onlookers. Furthermore, the dearth of fresh U.S. strategic reserve purchases cast a shade over prices.

Come Wednesday evening, Trump is set to unveil a tapestry of reciprocal tariffs, potentially igniting the fires of a trade war. This has sent BTC traders scurrying for the shelter of downside protection.

“BTC’s volatility smiles have twisted dramatically towards OTM puts, reaching heights unseen since the US Banking Crisis of March2023. ETH‘s short-tenor volatility smile skews have partly recovered from their pronounced lean towards OTM puts,” proclaimed the oracle, Block Scholes, in its Wednesday market missive.

Read More

2025-04-02 15:57