On Tuesday, Bitcoin (BTC) options traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) showed the strongest bullish sentiment since Donald Trump’s election victory on November 5.
Traders rushed to buy calls or options offering asymmetric exposure to the upside, pushing the skew to 4.4%, the highest since early November, according to data tracked by the digital asset index provider CF Benchmarks.
Bias is the difference in implied volatility between calls and puts, or options providing downside protection, and positive values represent bullish sentiment.
“Thirty-day bullish asymmetry in the Bitcoin options market has reached levels not seen since the November election results,” Thomas Erdösi, head of product at CF Benchmarks, told CoinDesk. “This reflects strong bullish sentiment, with traders actively positioning themselves for upside exposure on both short- and long-term maturities.”
Bitcoin price rose as much as 5%, briefly surpassing $106,000 on Tuesday after buyers defended the $100,000 support level despite President Trump failing to mention the crypto or Bitcoin strategic reserve in his inaugural speech the day before.
This rebound was accompanied by renewed interest in U.S.-listed cash ETFs, which saw a cumulative net inflow of $802 million, according to SoSoValue data. BlackRock’s IBIT alone generated $661.8 million, helping to solidify the bullish sentiment.
“ETF inflows continued their impressive accumulation streak, marking four straight days of large inflows, amounting to over $3 billion in Bitcoin alone. Bitcoin ($802 million) and Ethereum ($74 million) million) are receiving strong institutional support, which could propel digital assets to new heights,” BRN analyst Valentin Fournier said in an email to CoinDesk.
Additionally, according to blockchain data tracking firm Glassnode, long-term holders – wallets with a history of holding coins for more than 155 days – are reducing their money-making activities.
“Looking ahead, it is possible that volatility levels could moderate slightly towards the end of the month, but we expect the upward trend to likely persist, barring any surprise policy developments. This will likely result in continued pressure to the rise on prices for the foreseeable future, “said Erdösi.
