Bitcoin and other cryptoassets fell again steadily through the US session on Monday, with BTC slipping below $88,000 after earlier climbing above $90,000 and ETH falling back below $3,000.
Some crypto-related stocks are still holding gains, led by Hut 8 (HUT), which continues to rise following its agreement last week for a 15-year AI data center lease with Fluidstack. Shares are higher by 16% on Monday, helped by a price target increase Benchmark’s Mark Palmer.
Other names in the green include Coinbase (COIN) and Robinhood (HOOD), though both are well placed at session highs as crypto prices have pulled back. Strategy (MSTR) has gone from a 3% gain to a modest loss late in the day.
Option expiration
The recent very choppy price action between $85,000 and $90,000 comes ahead of Friday’s record-setting $28.5 billion BTC and ETH options expiration on crypto derivatives exchange Deribit. That amount represents more than half of Deribit’s $52.2 billion in open interest, noted Jean-David Pequignot, the exchange’s chief commercial officer.
“This year-end marks the culmination of a year defined by institutional maturity and a shift from speculative cycles to a policy-driven supercycle,” Pequignot said.
At the center of the action, Pequignot continued, is bitcoin’s $96,000 “max pain” level, where option writers stand to benefit the most. A remarkable $1.2 billion in open interest has accumulated at the $85,000 strike in puts, which could pull spot prices lower if selling pressure increases. While mid-term call spreads targeting $100,000-$125,000 remain in play, short-term protective puts have become more expensive, he said.
The spread between call and put prices has declined from recent highs but still indicates caution, Pequignot continued.
Traders appear to be rolling forward defensive positions rather than closing them out, he said. According to Péquignot, there has been a shift from December $85,000–$70,000 puts to January $80,000–$75,000 put spreads. This suggests that while the immediate risk until the end of the year is being covered, traders remain wary of what lies ahead.
