Analysis: Options Data Shows Traders Hedging Against BTC Falling Below $100,000 and ETH Dropping Below $3,000

According to ChainCatcher, citing The Block, after a strong rally in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other major crypto assets last month, cryptocurrency prices have recently remained flat, which appears to have prompted some market participants to adopt bearish positions.

Crypto options platform Derive reported that its options positions expiring on August 29 have shown a clear preference for put options on Bitcoin and Ethereum, indicating that traders are hedging against a potential price drop before the end of the month.

Sean Dawson, Head of Research at Derive, stated that as of the August 29 expiry, the number of Ethereum put options exceeds call options by more than 10%, with the greatest interest focused on strike prices of $3,200, $3,000, and $2,200.

The analyst noted that this positioning aligns with expectations ranging from a mild pullback to a deeper correction. The bearish sentiment is even more pronounced for Bitcoin. The open interest in Bitcoin put options expiring on August 29 is nearly five times that of call options, with about half concentrated at the $95,000 strike price and roughly a quarter at the $80,000 and $100,000 strike prices. The analyst pointed out that this distribution shows traders are “heavily betting that Bitcoin will fall below $100,000.”