Key Insights:
- BTC call open interest reaches $19.3B, with the put/call ratio falling to 0.59
- Delta skew turns neutral-bearish, signaling rising hedging despite bullish positions
- Price clears $93K, breaking key resistance and Ichimoku cloud levels
Call bets are heating up in Bitcoin’s options market, with open interest climbing and reaching $19.3 billion. Meanwhile, major resistance levels have been crossed as the price broke above $93,000. But growing hedging activity suggests traders are still wary, looking to protect recent gains.
Bitcoin Options Market Sees a Surge in Open Interest
Over the last few days, Bitcoin’s options market has been quite active. On April 21, BTC options open interest was $28.5 billion. This figure rose to $30.7 billion within 24 hours. That $2.2 billion rise was the highest level recorded since late March. The spike came as Bitcoin’s price also broke above $93,000 on April 22.
A higher number of active contracts is reflected in this growth in open interest. There are more traders entering the options market, and this usually means more interest in hedging and speculative strategies.
The rise in open interest also follows a broader upward trend seen across the BTC futures market as a whole, which generally reflects the sentiment of investors on short- to mid-term price expectations.
Put/Call Ratio Drops to 0.59 as Call Options Continue to Dominate
In addition, according to Glassnode, the preference for call options is on the rise. By April 22, call open interest had risen to $19.3 billion and put open interest at $11.5 billion. That makes the put/call ratio 0.59. The lower the ratio, the more call options are open than puts.
Traders use call options when they expect prices to go up. The growing number of call bets indicates that many traders expect the price to continue growing. But such a rise in calls is also being interpreted as a signal that some traders may be selling calls to lock in profits or reduce upside exposure.
While calls are the main theme, it does not always mean bullish momentum. These positions are often used by many institutional traders for complex strategies such as hedging or adjusting risk in portfolios instead of simply betting on price direction.
Delta Skew Turns Neutral-to-Bearish Despite Bullish Positioning
Open interest and call dominance suggest strong interest in higher prices, but options skew data paints a different picture. Recently, the 25 Delta skew, which measures the difference between call and put options pricing, flipped from bullish to neutral or slightly bearish across all time frames.
In the latest data, the 1-week skew fell from above 17.5% to just under 2%. The same is true for 1-month, 3-month, and 6-month skews. A falling skew could mean that more traders are buying puts or selling calls. Even as prices rise, this can be a sign that some are becoming cautious.
As per Glassnode, ‘BTC Options 25 Delta skew flipped neutral-to-bearish across the curve.’ It implies hedging activity is growing or vol sellers are selling into strength.”
As such, the market is seeing rising call bets and higher open interest, but skew data indicates that some are getting ready for possible price corrections or at least protecting gains.
Bitcoin Price Breaks Key Technical Levels
Meanwhile, BTC has decisively moved above several resistance levels on the technical chart. The price had a strong daily candle that pushed it above the $83,000 mark, which was a major trendline resistance.
The chart also indicates that BTC has broken the Ichimoku Cloud resistance around $88,500, the 50-day and 200-day moving averages at $84,133 and $88,368, respectively.
Technical analysts point out that BTC has finally broken out of the lower highs pattern. Which is considered a trend reversal move above $88,765.
In the post, Ash Crypto said: “Bitcoin closed above $93,000 and broke all the major resistance levels in a single candle.”
The bullish sentiment amongst retail and professional traders has been added to by this breakout. However, the increasing hedging signals indicate that some caution is still in place, particularly for those who have seen the market move before.
Disclaimer
In this article, the views and opinions stated by the author or any people named are for informational purposes only, and they don’t establish the investment, financial, or any other advice. Trading or investing in cryptocurrency assets comes with a risk of financial loss.
The post Bitcoin Call Open Interest Hits $19.3B—Is Smart Money Hedging or Betting on a Rally? appeared first on The Market Periodical.
