An analyst noted that bitcoin options positioning for the end-of-June 2024 expiry mirrors previous halvings, with a bullish skew favoring higher-priced calls over puts. A put-call ratio below one indicates a bullish sentiment, while the negative bitcoin put-call skew suggests relatively pricier calls, reflecting ongoing bullish sentiment.
Deribit CEO Luuk Strijers emphasized that despite recent bitcoin price dips, options positioning remains consistent with past halvings, suggesting a delayed positive price impact. He reiterated that the market sentiment remains bullish, attributing bitcoin’s short-term fluctuations to macroeconomic influences.
Regarding a concentrated selling of May-expiry calls at an $80,000 strike price, Strijers attributed it to a decrease in basis yield, leading traders to sell out-of-the-money calls for premium income, which reduced implied volatility levels.
While the current bitcoin trading range has tempered earlier enthusiasm, Strijers noted that the basis yield remains positive, indicating ongoing market positivity. However, Bitfinex analysts observed a shift in sentiment, with traders selling high strike price calls, possibly influenced by factors like stock market performance and an upcoming reassessment period in the options market.
As $6.2 billion out of $19.2 billion bitcoin options expire this Friday, bitcoin implied volatility stands at 58, the lowest in two months, suggesting a decline in options market activity compared to previous months.
The largest digital asset by market cap is holding precariously above the $64,000 mark, increasing by 1.4% in the past 24 hours, and was trading at $64,441 at 6:24 a.m. ET, according to The Block’s Price Page.
