The Bitcoin options market shifts as traders watch BTC turn bearish

The key take-aways

• The growing demand for BTC miner deposits and put options highlights the increasing caution of traders, despite the price stability near $108,000.

• The Bitwise analysts argue that deep corrections in the market often precede rebounding, framing it as an a “contrarian buying window”.

BitcoinBTC() dropped to $107 600 on Thursday. This prompted traders to wonder if Friday’s crash was a sign of the end to the bull market that reached its peak on October 6. A warning in the Bitcoin options market sent traders into a frenzy, as the outflow of miners increased. They were testing the level of support at $108,000.

Bitcoin delta skew is now above 10%. Professional traders are buying put (sell), a bearish sign. In neutral conditions, the indicator ranges from -6% to +6%. The skew is worsening since Friday. This suggests that traders have become more skeptical about Bitcoin’s upward momentum.

US President Donald Trump’s confirmation of the ongoing trade war between China and the US has also affected market sentiment. Trump has threatened further trade restrictions with China after its suspension of US Soybean purchases. according Yahoo Finance. Uncertainty surrounding US economic statistics amid the current government shutdown also adds to the pressure.

Deribit saw a surge in demand for strategies to protect against a fall, as the trading volume for call and put options was 50% higher than that of options. This is indicating heightened market tension. This indicator has reached its highest point in more than 30 days. The average cryptocurrency trader is optimistic. Therefore, a neutral ratio of put to call tends at around -20%. This favors the option called.

Bitcoin derivatives merely reflect worsening US macroeconomics

As gold reached a new record on Thursday, investors have changed their attitude. Demand for short-term US government bonds also spiked, even as two Federal Reserve Governors signaled further interest rate cuts in October — a move that typically reduces the appeal of fixed-income investments.

The yields of the US 2-year Treasury fell to the lowest levels in over three years. This shows that investors will accept lower returns for government-backed assets. Gold has risen to $4300, an increase of 23% from September. This puts the gold reserves of central banks above those of US Treasurys. according Reuters.

Despite positive developments in the tech sector, including chipmaker TSMC’s (TSM) upgraded 2025 outlook and strong quarterly results from Bank of America and Morgan Stanley, the S&P 500 fell 0.9% on Thursday. Dow Jones US Select Regional Banks Index fell 4.4% following two financial companies reporting losses on the private credit market. according Financial Times

Related: SEC chair: US is 10 years behind on crypto, fixing this is ‘job one’

Concern has also been raised about the movements of addresses linked to Bitcoin miners. Data CryptoQuant’s analysis shows that over the last seven days miners have deposited over $5 billion worth of BTC on exchanges, which is the biggest outflow since the beginning of July. Analysis noted that this behavior usually precedes price declines, since miners are historically among Bitcoin’s biggest holders.

Bitwise analysts noted that while the Bitcoin options market has warned of a possible further decline in Bitcoin sentiment, extreme falls have occurred before. “marked favorable entry points,” Add to that “the recent correction was driven largely by external factors.” Bitwise head of research André Dragosch added that Friday’s liquidation event has set the stage for a “contrarian buying window.”

Bitcoin can still go down further. However, this surge in the demand for put-options should not be taken as evidence of an ongoing bearish trend. This is because traders have become more cautious due to external factors.

This is not intended as investment or legal advice. These are solely the opinions, views and thoughts of the author and may not reflect the opinions and views of Cointelegraph.