Deribit listed Bitcoin BTC$102,019.12 Options markets are showing signs of growing caution among traders, with some bracing for a drop to $80,000 as spot prices show signs of weakness.
Nominal open interest in BTC options, or the dollar value of active contracts, remains over $40 billion on Deribit, with nearly $110,000 worth of trades concentrated in the November and December strikes. At the same time, however, demand for the $80,000 strike has also increased, indicating that traders expect Bitcoin’s decline to continue.
“The notable spike in put options near $80,000 indicates that traders are increasingly hedging against further declines,” Deribit said. Deribit, the world’s largest crypto options exchange, accounts for over 80% of global options trading.
Options are widely used to hedge spot/futures market exposures and speculate on price direction, volatility, and time. A put option gives the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to sell the underlying asset at a predetermined price on or before a specified future date. Puts represent insurance against falling prices, while calls represent bullish bets.
An $80,000 put is a bet that the spot price will fall below that level by the option’s expiration date.
OI distribution on Deribit’s BTC options.
At the time of writing, the open interest (OI) on Deribit’s $80,000 put option is over $1 billion, while the $90,000 put option is close to $1.9 billion, roughly matching the combined open interest of the popular $120,000 and $140,000 call options.
Note that at least some of the OI on these higher strike calls is due to overwrites or shorts on long spot bets rather than outright bullish bets. BTC holders short higher exercise calls to generate additional yield on top of their coin holdings.
18% decrease
Bitcoin’s price has fallen more than 18% since hitting an all-time high of more than $126,000 about four weeks ago. At one point this week, the price dipped below $100,000.
The sell-off comes as macro pressures, particularly recent hawkish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, have weakened demand for spot ETFs.
“Macro pressures have translated directly into cryptocurrencies through four consecutive sessions, with net outflows from the US Spot Bitcoin ETF of approximately $1.3 billion. This is a reversal, turning one of the strongest tailwinds of 2025 into a near-term headwind,” Singapore-based QCP Capital said in a market update on Wednesday.
“Weak spot demand collided with forced deleveraging, resulting in more than $1 billion in long-term liquidations at low prices,” the company added.
In a recent report, Ecoinometrics warned that the closer Bitcoin prices approach the $100,000 level, the greater the risk of a feedback loop in which a drop in price triggers outflows from Bitcoin ETFs, putting further downward pressure on spot prices.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $103,200, showing an increase of 1.9% in the past 24 hours.
