skip to Main Content
bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) $ 69,087.51 2.63%
ethereum
Ethereum (ETH) $ 2,479.35 2.92%
tether
Tether (USDT) $ 0.999493 0.11%
bnb
BNB (BNB) $ 563.60 2.93%
solana
Solana (SOL) $ 163.20 4.52%
usd-coin
USDC (USDC) $ 0.99992 0.07%
xrp
XRP (XRP) $ 0.508545 1.74%
staked-ether
Lido Staked Ether (STETH) $ 2,479.51 2.81%
dogecoin
Dogecoin (DOGE) $ 0.156928 5.43%
tron
TRON (TRX) $ 0.166363 0.52%

Bitcoin Option Traders Now Betting on Short-Term Price Drop

(thatkasem14/Shutterstock)

With bitcoin looking heavy this week, short-term sentiment in the options market has flipped bearish.

  • The leading cryptocurrency by market value fell to $9,070 soon before press time, reversing the 2.5% rise to $9,450 seen last week, according to CoinDesk’s Bitcoin Price Index.
  • Prices are now closing on the lower end of the multi-week-long trading range of $9,000–$10,000.
  • Reflecting the downward trend, the one-month put-call skew for bitcoin options, a metric that measures the price of (bearish) put options relative to (bullish) call options, has risen to 4.9%, according to data provided by crypto derivatives research firm Skew.
  • The positive number indicates short-term put options are drawing higher prices than calls.
  • Traders, the data suggests, are making speculative bets to the downside or are hedging against a potential bearish move (that is, buying puts against long positions in the spot market), Shaun Phoon, senior trader at QCP Capital, told CoinDesk.
skew_btc_25d_skew-12
One-month put-call skew for bitcoin options
Source: Skew
  • The one-month skew was hovering at lows below -7% a week ago, indicating stronger demand for call options – a sign of bullish bias in the options market.
  • While the one-month skew is now more bearish, the six-month skew remains below zero or bullish.
  • Demand for call options expiring in December is still higher than that for puts.
  • The three-month skew is hovering in the neutral zone near 0%.
skew_btc_25d_skew-13
BTC three- and six-month skews
Source: Skew

Disclosure: The author holds no cryptocurrency assets at the time of writing.

Disclosure

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

Loading data ...
Comparison
View chart compare
View table compare
Back To Top