Bitcoin (BTC) Market Trends Indicate Expectations for Prices to Reach Record Highs Following President-elect Donald Trump's Inauguration on Jan. 20

On Saturday, a trader on crypto exchange Deribit spent over $6 million to purchase the $100,000 strike call options set to expire on March 28

Bitcoin (BTC) price action may be setting up for another leg up after President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, judging by the latest derivatives data.

On Saturday, an unknown trader spent over $6 million to buy the $100,000 strike call options set to expire on March 28, data from crypto derivatives data source Amberdata shows.

"This trade anticipates that new highs for bitcoin will be broken just a few months after Trump officially takes office," Amberdata noted on Friday.

Traders are also net buyers at the $120,000 strike, indicating a strong anticipation of a rally pushing prices above that level. The $120,000 call is the most popular option on Deribit, boasting a notional open interest of $1.52 billion at press time.

A call option gives the buyer the option to buy the underlying asset at a specific price later in time. A call buyer is implicitly bullish on the market, looking to make asymmetric gains from an expected price rally.

The renewed interest in the call options comes as BTC looks to regain the $100,000 handle. At press time, the leading cryptocurrency by market value trades above $99,500, marking an 8% recovery from the Dec. 30 low of $91,384, according to data from CoinDesk and TradingView.

"The inauguration and right after will be a prime-time for bullish announcements and policies that could be bullish catalysts for bitcoin to move higher," Greg Magadini, director of derivatives at Amberdata, noted in a weekly newsletter.

CF Benchmarks, a regulated cryptocurrency index provider, voiced a similar opinion, adding that potential delays in policy development, if any, could temper the bullish mood.

"A restructured SEC under pro-cryptocurrency leadership may reduce enforcement risks and foster innovation. These changes, coupled with streamlined compliance requirements, could enhance investor confidence," CF Benchmarks noted in an annual report shared with CoinDesk.

"We believe that an industry framework will come, however, implementation delays or policy shifts may temper market optimism, creating short-term volatility," the firm added.

Expectations for pro-crypto regulatory changes have bolstered the crypto market sentiment since Donald Trump won the U.S. election in early November. BTC rose from roughly $70,000 to new lifetime highs above $108,000 weeks after the election. However, the rally lost steam in the second half of December, likely due to year-end profit-taking and hawkish Fed rate projections.