Bitcoin Options Open Interest An increase in the number of open puts relative to calls could be a sign of weakness ahead of expiration on Friday.
Deribit Chief Commercial Officer Luuk Strijers said the put-call ratio for Bitcoin options across all expiration periods is currently 0.44.
“Focusing on tomorrow’s expiration, the ratio is adjusted to 0.52, which means there are more puts compared to calls,” Strijers told The Block. “This suggests a bearish sentiment toward Bitcoin options expiration this month compared to the general trend in open contracts.”
The analyst added that this ratio suggests that the market expected a short-term decline in Bitcoin and that investors used put options as a hedge.
“But they see relatively more upside in the long term,” he added.
Ethereum options distortion is also bearish.
Strijers said call-put option skew for long-term 30-day and 60-day Ethereum options is still slightly negative. But he added that the figure is close to zero.
“This means that put options are more expensive than call options, a sign that the outlook for longer-maturity instruments is bearish,” Strijers added.
An option is a derivative contract that gives a trader the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an underlying asset at a predetermined price on or before a specific date. A call option grants the right to buy, and a put option grants the right to sell. Traders who buy put options implicitly assume that the market is trending downward, while buyers of call options implicitly assume that the market is bullish.
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