Bitcoin options are signaling bullish sentiment, evidenced by the strike positioning and put-call ratio for March’s end-of-month expiry, according to one analyst.
“Since the recent ascent of bitcoin to a new all-time high, the highest instruments traded by volume are monthly and mid-month expiry call options with a strike price of $70,000,” Bitfinex Head of Derivatives Jag Kooner told The Block.
This concentration of calls at the $70,000 strike price is shown for both Friday’s end-of-week and March’s end-of-month expiries on Deribit, the largest bitcoin options platform in the world.
There has been a concentration of call options at the strike price of $70,000 in the past 24 hours. Image: Deribit.
Kooner postulates that the current put-call ratio of bitcoin options indicates traders are exhibiting a bullish bias. “The put-call ratio has stayed below 0.6 consistently for the first time in 6 months, with the 24 hour put-call ratio at an even more bullish outlook of 0.47,” Kooner said.
According to The Block’s Data Dashboard, the global put-call ratio for bitcoin options is now at 0.6. A put-call ratio of less than 1 implies bullish sentiment, indicating more interest in potential upside (calls). In contrast to this, a put-call ratio greater than 1 typically suggests bearish sentiment, indicating more interest in downside protection (puts).
Implied volatility decreases
“Declining implied volatility values often cause a decline in option premiums because the expectation of a lack of volatility in the future as compared to the past allows for lower risk for options market participants,” Kooners added.
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