Over the last week, Bitcoin prices have soared significantly under a bullish resurgence, pushing the asset within range of its current all-time high around $124,400. Amidst this euphoria, there have been notable changes in the options trading market, which could spell major implications for BTC’s price trajectory.
Bitcoin Options Traders Aim For Upside Following Market Shift
According to a report from blockchain analytics firm Glassnode, last week’s record options expiry cleared out a substantial backlog of contracts, effectively “resetting” open interest. With the board wiped clean, fresh positions now show traders pivoting away from downside hedges and leaning more aggressively into upside exposure as Q4 begins.
For example, volatility readings suggest that traders expect Bitcoin to settle down in the immediate term. The one-week implied volatility (IV ), which is a key measure of expected market swings, fell by about three points from last week’s peak, and the two-week contract dropped by two. However, longer maturities have stayed anchored in the 40–43% range, painting a picture of calm in the near term but much room for uncertainty later in the year.
Meanwhile, another significant technical shift appeared in the risk reversals (RR), which measure the skew between call and put demand. The one-week 25-delta RR swung dramatically from an 18.5 vol put premium, indicating strong demand for downside hedging, to a 4 vol call premium, signaling that traders are now paying up for upside protection. Longer maturities also flattened, showing a more balanced risk outlook but reinforcing the short-term bullish tilt.
Market Flows Confirm Upside Bias: Price Targets Between $136k–$145k
Interestingly, Glassnode data reveals that options market flows data also confirm the ongoing bullish shift. Traders have now lifted upside calls, with net premiums concentrated in the $136,000–$145,000 strike range. This activity reflects an expectation of continued Bitcoin strength, though at higher strikes, call selling suggested participants are not yet ready to chase extreme parabolic targets.
Meanwhile, Dealer gamma exposure remains muted in the post-expiry environment, with dealers modestly long gamma on both sides. This stabilizing influence may dampen volatility in the near term but remains limited since the next major expiry is still weeks away. Therefore, meaningful hedging flows will likely reemerge closer to future expirations.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin continues to trade at $122,086 after a notable 11.92% gain in the past day. Notably, the asset’s daily trading volume is up by 19.01% and valued at $85.94 billion.
Featured image from Flickr, chart from Tradingview
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