Bitcoin Braced For Fresh $750 Million Shock As Price Warning Signs Suddenly Flash

Bitcoin traders and investors are nervously watching traditional markets that have tanked this week.

The bitcoin price, after climbing more than 20% over the last 30 days on the back of a slew of positive developments, has begun to wobble, sending warning signals to bitcoin traders—some of whom were already anticipating a correction.

Now, bitcoin traders have turned their attention to 60,000 bitcoin options that are due to expire on Friday, October 30, potentially sending a $750 million shock through the increasingly unstable-looking bitcoin market.

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The bitcoin options market, that sees traders betting on what they expect the price of bitcoin to be in the future, has exploded this year, adding a staggering $1 billion in the last month alone and is now valued at just over $2.5 billion, according to data from bitcoin and crypto market analysis company Skew.

The looming $750 million bitcoin options expiry could mean wild bitcoin price swings. When options expire, the trader that made the bet will either get a payout or lose their stake. The bitcoin options market has swelled through 2020, bolstered by an influx of institutional investors and supported by Deribit, a Panama-based derivatives exchange, which now accounts for almost $2 billion worth of bitcoin options contracts.

Meanwhile, the bitcoin price has leaped this month, nudging $14,000 per bitcoin and pushed higher by a raft of bullish bitcoin news and increasing belief among some investors that bitcoin will serve as a hedge against a tidal wave of inflation they see on the horizon.

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The bitcoin price has given up some of its gains over the last 24-hour trading period, however, falling along with global stock markets that have balked at soaring coronavirus cases around the world.

“Some momentum technical indicators are still flagging the bitcoin price as being somewhat overbought,” Simon Peters, bitcoin and crypto analyst at brokerage eToro, said via email. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see a pullback, hopefully staying above $13,000. If bitcoin dipped below the $12,000 resistance level we saw previously, I would be happy to see it hold as support.”