Even though Bitcoin has retreated from record territory, options show that traders remain extremely bullish with open interest reaching an all-time high.
The total number of outstanding Bitcoin options contracts reached $48.2 billion as of Friday, according to data compiled by Coinglass. The largest digital currency fell as much as 3.4% to $107,357 on Friday, a day after reaching a record $111,980.
Bitcoin options traders are betting on even higher prices, with far out-of-the-money call options expiring on June 27 at a strike price of $300,000 seeing significant open interest this week, open interest on the crypto options exchange Deribit showed.
The recent upswing comes amid a wave of favorable regulatory developments, including progress on a US stablecoin bill in Congress. Bitcoin’s narrative as a safe-haven asset has also resurfaced, as investors grapple with market volatility following the introduction of trade tariffs by US President Donald Trump and ongoing tensions over US budget negotiations and rising deficit levels.
Institutional demand from the US remains robust. Open interest on Bitcoin futures listed on CME Group Inc. has rebounded 25% from April’s year-to-date low. Meanwhile, US spot Bitcoin ETFs have attracted more than $5 billion in inflows so far in May, reflecting sustained appetite from investors seeking crypto exposure through regulated products.
Options trading on BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has gained strong traction, with notional open interest now at $21 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Deribit, the largest crypto options exchange, currently holds approximately $35 billion across all expiries.
A message from Advisor Perspectives and VettaFi: To learn more about this and other topics, check out some of our webcasts.
Bloomberg News provided this article. For more articles like this please visit
bloomberg.com.
Read more articles by Sidhartha Shukla
