Bitcoin (BTC) Options Market Caps Its Bullish Bets at the $100K Strike as Sellers Take Profits

The recent crypto market downturn has caused the once-popular $120,000 bitcoin (BTC) options bet to lose its crown to the $100,000 bet

In the wake of the recent crypto market downturn, traders appear to be dialing down their bullish expectations, evident in the shift of the most popular bitcoin (BTC) options bet from $120,000 to $100,000, data showed on Friday.

At press time, the $100,000 call was the most popular BTC options contract on the exchange, with a notional open interest of $1.55 billion. The notional open interest denotes the dollar value of the number of active option contracts at a given time.

Meanwhile, the $120,000 call, the former leader up until last month, slipped to the number two position, with a notional open interest of $1.33 billion.

A call grants the purchaser the right but not the obligation to purchase the underlying asset at a predetermined price at a later date. A call buyer is implicitly bullish on the market. Thus, a significant build-up of open interest in higher strike out-of-the-money calls, like $100,000 and $120,000, reflects bullish anticipations.

The shift lower in the most preferred call to the $100,000 strike likely reflects traders opting for a more conservative bet following the recent price decline to below $80,000. Furthermore, it may indicate a broader reassessment of bullish sentiment.

The 25-delta risk reversals, which measure the disparity between implied volatility (demand) for higher strike calls compared to lower strike puts, displayed negative readings or a preference for protective put options at least until the May end expiry. This signifies concerns about a prolonged price decline in the market.

However, the pricing remained skewed in favor of call options after May. Moreover, the dollar value of the total number of calls was over $16 billion – almost double the $8.35 billion in put options.