This Friday marks the expiration of approximately $9.4 billion worth of cryptocurrency options on the Deribit derivatives exchange. Among these, bitcoin contracts dominate, with a notional value of $6.35 billion. The put-call ratio, indicating the proportion of put options to call options, is notably elevated at 0.68, signaling an increase in put options compared to the previous week.
Bitcoin options valued at over $6.3 billion are scheduled to expire this Friday, while ether options, totaling $3.08 billion, are also set to expire. However, the put-call ratio for ether contracts stands lower at 0.49, indicating a higher volume of calls compared to puts, suggesting bullish sentiment in the market.
Of particular interest are bullish bets on bitcoin, notably calls at a $100,000 strike price, which hold the largest open interest leading up to the year-end expiry. This optimistic outlook aligns with the anticipation among derivatives players for Bitcoin’s value to surpass this price by December.
Analysts at QCP Capital attribute the heightened bitcoin options activity to investors positioning themselves for a post-halving uptrend and a breakout from a two-month consolidation phase. This sentiment is consistent with Standard Chartered’s projection, setting a target price of $150,000 for bitcoin and $8,000 for ether by the end of 2024.
Options, as derivative contracts, grant traders the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell the underlying asset at a predetermined price on or before a specific date. A call option confers the right to buy, while a put option provides the right to sell. Typically, purchasing put options is indicative of a bearish stance, whereas buying calls reflects a bullish outlook on the market.
