Bitcoin fell beneath $100,000 on Sunday following U.S. confirmation of involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict, as derivatives data shows traders are heavily positioned for further volatility.
Bitcoin Options Open Interest Hits $51B Amid Geopolitical Jitters
Open interest in bitcoin (BTC) options is now hovering around $51 billion, according to Coinglass data, while ethereum ( ETH) open interest trails behind at approximately $17 billion. This significant divergence highlights the intensified focus on bitcoin amid heightened geopolitical tensions.
Essentially, open interest reflects the total value of outstanding options contracts and is often used to gauge market participation and sentiment. On Deribit, call options remain dominant in the open interest for both bitcoin and ethereum. Roughly 59.73% of bitcoin option contracts are calls, compared to 40.27% puts.
For ether, calls make up an even larger share, at 67.39% versus 32.61% puts. Bears currently reign in ETH derivatives markets. However, the 24-hour trading volume paints a more balanced picture. For bitcoin, call volume stands at 24,168 BTC while put volume is slightly higher at 24,780 BTC.
Ethereum trading activity shows a slight preference for bets that its price will rise, with 53.06% of volume going to those contracts. The most actively traded bitcoin contract is a bet that BTC will drop by June 27, with over 2,000 BTC tied to that position. The volume is tied to the expectation that BTC will fall to $95,000 or lower by that day.
Another popular trade is a wager that bitcoin will climb to $105,000 by July 11. For ethereum, the busiest options are those speculating it could fall to $2,100, $2,200, or even $2,000 by June 27—signaling that some traders are preparing for short-term downside.
Despite heavy interest in downside protection, especially for near-dated expiries, the heavier tilt toward calls in open interest implies longer-term optimism remains intact. Crypto traders appear to be bracing for more short-term turbulence while still eyeing upside potential later this year.
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