The largest cluster of Ether call options for June expiration is centered around the $4,000 strike price, according to Deribit data.
Deribit Chief Commercial Officer Luke Strijers shared a chart with The Block that shows a group of noteworthy ether currency options at this strike price.
“As seen in Deribit data, the $4,000 exercise is the largest exercise among the June and September expirations. “We only see Ethereum in June and April because there are no May expiry transactions yet,” Strijers said.
Ether call options are concentrated at $4,000 with a late June expiration date, according to Deribit data. Image: Block.
The strike price being centered around $4,000 means that market participants have a particular interest or expectation that the price of Ether will rise above $4,000 by the option expiration date. This concentration may reflect consensus or speculation about potential future movements of the Ethereum price in the market.
Ether call options are concentrated at $4,000 with a late September expiration date, according to Deribit data. Image: Block.
Traders Expect Spot Ether ETF Approval
It is noteworthy that the concentration of Ether call options with a strike price of $4,000 comes after the potential approval of spot Ethereum, according to one analyst. ETF until the end of May. The deadline for a final approval decision on the spot ether ETF application submitted by asset managers VanEck and Ark/21Shares to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is May 23.
“Traders seem to be adjusting their Ether options contracts with May 23 in mind,” Bitfinex head of derivatives Jag Kooner told The Block.
However, Strijers said it is too early to draw conclusions about whether derivatives traders expect prices to rise following the approval of the spot Ether ETF. “June skews are higher than April, meaning calls are relatively more expensive, but it is difficult to specifically tie the expected correlation to Ethereum ETF news or the BTC halving,” he 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 bearish, while call option buyers assume that the market is bullish.
The price of Ether was trading at $2,470 at 5:30 a.m. Friday, up more than 2% on Friday, according to The Block’s pricing page.
The price of Ether has risen by more than 2% in the last 24 hours. Image: Block.
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