Bitcoin’s slide has quickly reshaped positioning in the options market. On Deribit, the notional open interest in $75,000 bitcoin put options has climbed to $1.159 billion, almost level with the $1.168 billion tied to $100,000 call options. That marks a sharp shift in sentiment: bets on a move below $75,000 are now drawing nearly as much attention as the long-favored trade on a rise into six figures.
CoinDesk data shows bitcoin has fallen nearly 10% this week, dropping below $78,000 to its lowest level in nine months. As spot prices weakened, traders rushed into put options, contracts commonly used to hedge downside risk in the underlying asset. Deribit remains the world’s largest crypto options exchange by volume and open interest, and each contract represents 1 BTC.
$75,000 becomes the main downside strike
The $75,000 put is now the most crowded bearish position in the market. Open interest is also notable at $70,000, $80,000 and $85,000 put strikes, showing that traders are building protection across a broad downside range. On the upside, activity is much thinner at higher-strike calls, with the major exception still sitting at the $100,000 level.
Pseudonymous market observer GravitySucks wrote on X that put buying surged over the last 48 hours, as BTC spot fell from $88,000 to $75,000. The comment pointed to options traders, hedgers and funds targeting these same price zones with pre-defined strategies already in place. The message from the market is fairly direct: hedging demand has concentrated around levels traders had already mapped out.
Positioning no longer looks like the post-election bullish phase
This setup looks very different from the pattern seen after Donald Trump’s election victory, when higher-strike calls consistently attracted more interest than lower-strike puts. At that stage, traders were leaning into expectations that pro-crypto regulation promised during the campaign would lift valuations.
The article notes that while the Trump administration delivered on much of that agenda, bitcoin’s rally stalled above $120,000 in early October and then began to fade. Macro pressure has weighed on price action, and delays around the crypto market structure bill have added to the frustration reflected in current positioning.