30s Summary
Bitcoin enthusiasts are anticipating the expiration of $19.8 billion worth of Bitcoin options on December 27. Currently, ‘call’ options are valued at $12 billion and ‘put’ options at $7.8 billion. If Bitcoin’s price stays around $100,500 at the time of expiry, only options worth $275 million will remain valuable. There’s high institutional demand, with spot ETFs pulling in $4.5 billion in early December. Furthermore, the potential approval of a US strategic Bitcoin reserve could influence the market further. It seems Bitcoin bulls are potentially well-positioned for the year-end options expiry.
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So, folks into Bitcoin are getting ready for a huge chunk of Bitcoin options – worth about $19.8 billion – to expire on December 27. The recent rally has taken Bitcoin beyond the $100,000 mark, catching negative nancies by surprise and bull players have seized the chance to potentially bring around a new Bitcoin record high.
At the moment, total options up for buying (or “call” options) are valued at $12 billion, while options up for selling (or “put” options) are behind at $7.8 billion. Deribit is the big boy in the options market with 72% share, followed by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) owning 12% and Binance at 9%. Since Bitcoin’s price shot up by 68% in the last three months, most put options aren’t really that effective.
As we draw closer to the expiration date, both the positive and negative traders have a reason to influence Bitcoin’s real-time price. But while the optimistic investors are hoping for levels above $110,000, their good vibes alone won’t ensure that BTC will breech this ceiling.
In terms of institutional demand for Bitcoin, things remain strong. In the first 12 days of December, spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) pulled in $4.5 billion. Oh, and MicroStrategy snapped up a whopping 21,550 BTC between December 2 and 8, at an average price of $98,783 per Bitcoin. Add to that, Bitcoin miner MARA Holdings declared the purchase of 11,744 BTC on December 10.
Investors are considering the potential approval of a US strategic Bitcoin reserve too. This is a proposal by Senator Cynthia Lummis that seeks to gather up to 1 million BTC over time. Other states like Texas are also thinking about similar steps. In fact, a Texas lawmaker has put forward legislation to keep Bitcoin as a reserve asset for at least five years, explicitly stating that no taxpayer funds would be used to buy Bitcoin.
Given the way the market is shaping up, Bitcoin bulls seem to be in a better position for the year-end options expiry. For instance, if Bitcoin’s price hovers around $100,500 at 8:00 am UTC on December 27, only options worth $275 million will still have any value. This is because the option to sell at $100,000 goes kaput if BTC is trading above that level at expiry.
Now, if Bitcoin bears want to keep their losses down, they need to get prices under $95,000 ahead of the December 27 expiry. But the positive folks get the most out of their gains if they can propel BTC beyond $105,000, thereby hitting a new all-time high. This would be a major victory to keep the upward push going into early 2026. But please, remember this isn’t actual investment advice, just information for you to chew on.