Cryptoverse: Bitcoin traders like their options

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

bitcoin flies high, investors are keeping their options open, judging by a record race to derivatives. Open interest for bitcoin options and futures has spiked over the past month as fear has stalked global banking, hitting an all-time high of 433,540 contracts on March 23 on Deribit, a leading exchange for crypto-focused derivatives products. In the 12 months preceding March, by contrast, open interest ranged between 150,000 and 300,000, referring to the number of contracts yet to be settled between buyers and sellers, which provides a measure of investor participation in a market. Most options traders are betting on bitcoin prices jumping higher, with open interest in call options at 206,979 contracts on Deribit, more than double the bearish put options of 93,857.

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In notional terms, open interest in bitcoin's most recent peak at $12.24 billion on March 22 was the highest since mid-November when bitcoin was trading near $60,000, according to Deribit data. «We've never seen this much activity before,» said Luuk Strijers, chief commercial officer at Deribit. «We have reached the same levels of open interest as 2021 at half the prices, which means we have doubled.» Options contracts give their buyers the right, but not an obligation, to buy or sell an underlying asset at a fixed price in the future. Such contracts are not only used as a lower-risk, lower-reward alternative to actually buying bitcoin, but