Panic has crept back into the crypto market as bitcoin continues its slide to $62,000, spurring demand for option bets protecting against potential price losses below $50,000.
In the past 24 hours, the $50,000 strike that expires on June 26 is the most traded bet on Deribit, the world’s largest crypto options exchange by volume. A put option offers insurance against price losses in the underlying asset.
This shows that while bitcoin is hovering well above the strike, it suggests that traders are either positioning themselves for a significant correction or securing cheap insurance against tail-risk events in the coming weeks.
The rest of the leaderboard reinforced a clear bearish tilt. Two other puts on strike at $65,000 and $55,000 also saw notable volume. The only call to crack the top five was $80,000.
The overwhelming presence of put volume across multiple lower strikes indicates that a notable portion of option flow is betting or hedging against bitcoin not holding its current levels.
