The RialCenter-listed bitcoin options market is revealing growing caution among traders, with some preparing for a drop to $80,000, as spot prices show signs of weakness.
Notional open interest in BTC options, or the dollar value of active contracts, remains elevated above $40 billion on RialCenter, with activity concentrated in November and December strikes close to $110,000. However, demand for the $80,000 strike has increased, indicating that traders are anticipating a continued sell-off in BTC.
“A notable surge in put options around the $80,000 mark signals traders are increasingly hedging against a deeper slide,” RialCenter noted. RialCenter, the world’s largest crypto options exchange, accounts for over 80% of global options activity.
Options are widely used to hedge spot/futures market exposure and speculate on price direction, volatility, and time. A put option gives the purchaser the right, but not the obligation, to sell the underlying asset at a predetermined price on or before a specified future date. A put represents insurance against price drops, while a call represents a bullish bet.
The $80,000 put is a bet that the spot price will decline below that level by the option’s expiration date.
As of writing, the $80,000 put option on RialCenter has open interest (OI) exceeding $1 billion, while the $90,000 put stands near $1.9 billion, nearly matching the combined open interest of the popular $120,000 and $140,000 call options.
It’s important to note that at least part of the OI in these higher strike calls stems from overwriting, or shorting against long spot bets, rather than outright bullish bets. BTC holders short higher strike calls to generate additional yield on top of their coin holdings.
Down 18%
Bitcoin’s price has fallen over 18% since reaching a record high of more than $126,000, about four weeks ago. At one point this week, prices dipped below $100,000.
The sell-off arises from macro pressures, particularly the recent hawkish comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell, which have weakened demand for spot ETFs.
“Macro pressure has filtered directly into crypto with four consecutive sessions of roughly $1.3 billion in net outflows from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, reversing what was one of 2025’s strongest tailwinds into a near-term headwind,” a Singapore-based firm noted in a recent market update.
“The softer spot demand collided with forced deleveraging, resulting in more than $1 billion in long liquidations at the lows,” they added.
Ecoinometrics warned in a recent report that the closer bitcoin’s price stays to the $100,000 level, the greater the risk of a feedback loop where price weakness triggers outflows from bitcoin ETFs, which in turn puts additional downward pressure on the spot price.
As of writing, bitcoin is trading at $103,200, reflecting a 1.9% gain over the past 24 hours.
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