Bitcoin options market is showing the rising demand for institutional put options as the BTC price struggles to reclaim the upside. According to market data, the total value of institutional Bitcoin put transactions exceeded $1.15 billion. This represents a massive 28% of the overall market activity. This could potentially have a spillover across the broader crypto market, with risks of further downside.
Bitcoin Options Market Sees Surge in Institutional Put Activity
Following the rejection at $115,000 levels, Bitcoin price is once again facing selling pressure and flirting with the crucial support at $110,000. Furthermore, the Bitcoin options market hints at downward fear.
Most of these trades were concentrated in short-dated, out-of-the-money puts expiring this week and later this month. Analysts at Greeks.Live noted that the $10,400–$10,800 strike range is emerging as a key area of activity.
Meanwhile, market skew has turned increasingly negative, reflecting heightened concern over potential downside risks. Analysts noted that the current degree of negative skew is comparable to levels seen on October 11. This follows the last major market downturn.
The data suggests that institutional players and market makers are positioning defensively amid rising volatility. As a result, some analysts noted that buying put options for protection could be a prudent strategy in the current crypto market volatility conditions.
BTC Price Can Test the Lows of $100K Pushing Crypto Market Lower
Apart from the Bitcoin options market scenario, the waning institutional sentiment is also visible through Bitcoin ETF outflows. Popular market analyst IncomeSharks has shared a technical chart pattern for Bitcoin, which is very similar to that from early 2025, where the price crashed to the lows of $80,000, before resuming its upward journey.
As we can see from the chart below, BTC is currently testing a crucial support at $100K. Losing this could open the gates for a dip to $100K, and even below.
Source: IncomeSharksWhile sharing this chart, IncomeSharks noted: “This would only punish leverage traders, not spot holders. Have to prepare for the worst while expecting the best”.
Along with Bitcoin, the broader crypto market is also facing selling pressure. The liquidations have once again soared to $450 million, with $290 million in long liquidations, as per the Coinglass data. Friday’s Bitcoin options expiry will test how the broader market responds.
Source: https://coingape.com/bitcoin-options-puts-exceed-1-15b-as-negative-bias-jumps-to-oct-11-crypto-market-crash-levels/
