Derivatives: Option data shows traders hedging against Bitcoin dropping below $100,000 and Ethereum dropping below $3,000

On August 6th, as per The Block, following a robust uptrend in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other major cryptocurrencies last month, the recent cryptocurrency price movement has been rather unimpressive. This seemingly has led some market participants to adopt a bearish stance. The cryptocurrency options platform Derive has indicated that its options positions set to expire on August 29th have shown a significant preference for Bitcoin and Ethereum put options. This indicates that traders are hedging against a potential price decline by the end of the month. Sean Dawson, the Head of Research at Derive, has stated that the number of Ethereum put options expiring by August 29th exceeds the number of call options by more than 10%. The highest interest is concentrated at strike prices of $3,200, $3,000, and $2,200. The analyst pointed out that this positioning is in line with the expectation of "any scenario ranging from a mild pullback to a more significant correction." The bearish sentiment is even more pronounced for Bitcoin. The open interest for Bitcoin put options expiring on August 29th is nearly 5 times that of call options. Around half of it is concentrated at a $95,000 strike price, and a quarter each at $80,000 and $100,000 strike prices. The analyst noted that this distribution shows that traders are "heavily betting on Bitcoin falling below $100,000."