Panic has returned to the crypto market, as bitcoin continues its decline to $62,000, spurring demand for options bets that protect against possible price losses below $50,000.
Over the past 24 hours, the $50,000 strike put expiring on June 26 is the most traded bet on Deribit, the world’s largest crypto options exchange by volume. A put option provides insurance against price losses of the underlying asset.
This shows that even though Bitcoin is well above the strike, it suggests that traders are positioning themselves for a significant correction or getting cheap insurance against tail risk events in the coming weeks.
The rest of the ranking reinforced a clearly downward trend. Two other strike puts of $65,000 and $55,000 also saw notable volume. The only call to place in the top five was the $80,000.
The overwhelming presence of selling volumes across several lower strikes indicates that a notable portion of the options flow is betting or hedging against bitcoin failing to maintain its current levels.
