Record High: Bitcoin and Ether Options Value Hits $23B on Deribit

• Options Trading for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) on Deribit Hits New Highs
• Record Highs for Deribit
• Options Trading Explained
• Call Options Dominate
• Expectations for Continued Growth

Options Trading for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) on Deribit Hits New Highs

Trading of Bitcoin$42,260 -0.64% (BTC) and Ether (ETH) options on Deribit reached record-breaking levels on Friday. The total dollar value of open or outstanding contracts, otherwise known as notional open interest, peaked at $23.6B, according to Luuk Strijers, Deribit's Chief Commercial Officer. Bitcoin options made up 67% of this total, with Ether making up the remaining portion. On the Deribit platform, a single options contract represents one BTC or one ETH.

Record Highs for Deribit

The total notional open interest for options on Deribit has reached a new all-time high (ATH). This includes $16 billion in BTC options and $7.6 billion in ETH options open, equating to a total of $23.6 billion. Adding the $2.2 billion in perpetuals and futures OI, Deribit celebrates a milestone, reaching $25 billion for the first time, with the total now at $25.8B.

Options Trading Explained

Options trading allows investors to make leveraged bets on an underlying asset and hedges against their market exposure in the spot/futures. A call option gives the investor the right, but not the obligation, to buy the underlying asset at a pre-set price at a future date. Conversely, a put option grants the right to sell.

Unlike traditional spot and futures markets, which focus solely on price direction, options trading is three-dimensional. Investors can bet not only on the direction of the price move, but also on the expected degree of price volatility and time. This complexity draws more sophisticated traders to the crypto market and fosters improved price discovery.

Call Options Dominate

At the time of reporting, the majority of open interest in Bitcoin and Ether options was focused on call options. For Bitcoin, significant interest was seen in call options at $50,000, $40,000, and $45,000 strikes. For Ether, popular call options were those at $2,300, $2,400, $2,500 and $3,000.

Expectations for Continued Growth

The preference for call options is consistent with the ongoing rally of both cryptocurrencies and indicates an expectation of continued growth. Bitcoin surpassed the $44,000 mark earlier this week, reaching its highest level since April 2022, largely due to ETF optimism and falling U.S. Treasury yields. The leading cryptocurrency has seen over 150% growth this year.

Similarly, Ether approached $2,400 earlier today, its highest level since May 2022. This brings its year-to-date gain to 98%.

Edited by Jonathan Stoker