Bitcoin Drop: Institutions Announce New Price Expectations

Recently, the 25% decline in Bitcoin's price has caught the attention of institutional investors. Since the beginning of October, Bitcoin has dropped to a level of $91,000, completely shifting the risk perception in the options market. A sharp reversal is observed from the popular $140,000 call positions of last year to today's $85,000 put side.

Data from Deribit shows that the open interest level for the $140,000 call position, which had long been around $2 billion, has fallen to $1.63 billion. Meanwhile, the $85,000 put option has reached the top with an open interest of $2.05 billion. This indicates that investors are heavily favoring put options to hedge against price declines.

Additionally, put positions at the $80,000 and $90,000 levels have surpassed the volume of the $140,000 calls. Deribit executives note that particularly the put options in the short-term range between $84,000 and $80,000 have seen high volumes, and they expect volatility to increase as the year-end approaches.

A similar trend is observed in decentralized options platforms as well. According to the research team at Derive.xyz, there has been a significant accumulation at the $80,000 level for options that expire on December 26. Signs of weakness in the U.S. labor market and the possibility of a rate cut in December are reducing investors' risk appetite. This uncertainty is leading to a cautious approach in the options market.

The market indicates that extreme fear levels are signaling a bottom approach. The Fear and Greed Index has fallen to 15, while the RSI indicator is nearing the 30 level. Furthermore, wallets holding over 1,000 Bitcoins have been observed making significant purchases in the past week, suggesting that large investors are looking to take advantage of the low prices.