Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies experienced a steady decline during the U.S. session on Monday, with BTC dipping below $88,000 after briefly surpassing $90,000 and ETH falling back under $3,000.
Some stocks related to cryptocurrencies continue to show resilience, particularly Hut 8 (HUT), which has gained traction following a recent 15-year AI data center lease with Fluidstack. The stock rose by 16% on Monday, buoyed by an upgraded price target from Benchmark’s Mark Palmer.
Other stocks making gains include Coinbase (COIN) and Robinhood (HOOD), though both are significantly off their session highs as crypto prices retract. MicroStrategy (MSTR) shifted from a 3% gain to a slight loss towards the day’s end.
Options expiration
The recent volatile price movements within the range of $85,000 to $90,000 come just ahead of Friday’s record $28.5 billion in BTC and ETH options expirations at the crypto derivatives exchange Deribit. This figure represents more than half of Deribit’s $52.2 billion in open interest, as noted by Jean-David Pequignot, the exchange’s chief commercial officer.
“This year-end expiration signifies the culmination of a year characterized by institutional maturity and a transition from speculative phases to a policy-driven supercycle,” Pequignot remarked.
Central to the activity is bitcoin’s $96,000 “max pain” point, where option writers stand to gain the most. A significant $1.2 billion in open interest is concentrated at the $85,000 strike for puts, which could exert downward pressure on spot prices if selling intensifies. While mid-term call spreads aiming for $100,000–$125,000 remain viable, short-term protective puts have seen a rise in cost, he said.
The disparity between call and put pricing has decreased from recent peaks, yet still reflects cautious sentiment, Pequignot added.
Traders seem to be rolling over defensive positions instead of closing them, he noted. According to Pequignot, there’s been a migration from December $85,000–$70,000 puts to January $80,000–$75,000 put spreads, indicating that while immediate year-end risks are being hedged, traders remain apprehensive about future developments.
