Record-Sized Bitcoin Options Activity Hints at Renewed Upside Momentum

Bitcoin’s options market is showing a strong bullish tilt, with traders accumulating nearly $5 billion in open interest around the $70,000 and $72,000 call strikes on Deribit.

The heavy concentration of these positions suggests market participants are preparing for a possible Bitcoin move higher, with these two strike prices emerging as the most popular contracts on the platform.

Together, the $70,000 and $72,000 call options represent almost $5 billion in notional open interest, accounting for roughly 18% of Deribit’s total Bitcoin options market, which holds about $28 billion in open interest. Each contract represents one BTC, making the size of these positions particularly notable.

Data from Laevitas highlights a significant imbalance between bullish and bearish bets. The $70,000 strike has approximately 39,000 active call contracts compared with around 3,800 put contracts. At the $72,000 level, traders hold nearly 37,900 calls versus only about 1,200 puts, showing a clear preference for upside exposure.

Call options allow traders to buy Bitcoin at a fixed strike price before expiration and are generally used when expecting a price increase. Put options provide the right to sell Bitcoin at a predetermined level and are commonly used for hedging or betting on declines.

Several large trades have contributed to the buildup at these levels. Laevitas identified a major bull call spread strategy involving the purchase of $70,000 calls while selling $72,000 calls at the same time.

The structure reflects a moderately optimistic outlook, with traders positioning for Bitcoin to rise toward $72,000 rather than expecting an unlimited rally. According to Laevitas, this spread accounts for nearly half of all call open interest at both strike prices, representing around 49% at $70,000 and 50% at $72,000.

Other notable activity included calendar spread trades, which seek to benefit from changes in volatility across different option expiration dates.

A separate trader or group of traders also bought a large block of $70,000 calls, paying approximately $3.4 million in premiums to gain exposure to a potential upside move.

Jimmy Yang, co-founder of Orbit Markets, said recent demand for Bitcoin upside options was partly fueled by expectations around the U.S. crypto market structure legislation known as the Clarity Act.

Yang said July 31 expiry calls at the $70,000 and $72,000 strikes attracted strong demand earlier this month as traders bet on possible progress for the bill before July ended.

However, he noted that some of those bullish positions have recently been unwound as market confidence in the legislation’s near-term progress declined.

According to Polymarket, the probability of the Clarity Act being passed this year has dropped to 38% from 51% earlier in the week. The decline followed comments from Senate Majority Leader John Thune indicating the Senate may not complete the legislation before its August recess.