Bitcoin options open interest is always high on this exchange

The cryptocurrency options trading market has seen a huge surge thanks to Deribit's impressive $15 billion in Bitcoin (BTC) options last week. Derbit has firmly established its dominance in the BTC options platform, commanding an impressive 87% market share.

The increase, which marks the biggest increase since late September, reflects traders' appetite for bullish exposure in the crypto market.

Record-breaking interest is open in Bitcoin options.

On Friday, notional open interest, which measures the value of the US dollar in active Bitcoin options contracts, reached a milestone.

The measure rose to $15 billion, setting a new record. Since late September, the number has more than doubled, surpassing the $14.36 billion peak reached during the October 2021 bull market, when BTC traded above $60,000.

As of this writing, open interest in Bitcoin options is approximately $14.02 billion, based on data from the Deribit exchange.

An increase in open demand indicates a liquid market with many participants, indicating high activity by sophisticated traders creating new option contracts. Although an increase in open demand indicates more demand and market activity, it does not indicate the direction or volatility of the market, whether it is bullish or bearish.

Deribit's Chief Commercial Officer Luke Striggers expressed his excitement, “We are thrilled to announce that we have now achieved a record-breaking $15 billion (ATH) in virtual open demand for BTC options. It also highlighted the growing preference for options as a strategic tool among traders, capitalizing on recent changes in positions, hedging or leveraged implied volatility.

Options, which represent the right to buy (call option) or sell BTC within a specified period of time, have become popular among sophisticated trading strategies, with call options becoming the preferred option for investors looking to take advantage of BTC's upside potential.

The BTC options market is bigger than the BTC futures market

In a related development, open interest in the BTC options market recently surpassed that of the BTC futures market. According to data from Coinglass, active options contracts currently stand at an impressive $17.94 billion, outpacing the futures market's $16.69 billion.

This shift is seen as market maturity, reflecting strategic positioning, hedging and the choice to respond to cyclical volatility.

Luke Striggers sees this as a sign of market complexity, which reflects the need for traders to engage in settlement effects and the hedging activities of market makers in the evolving landscape of spot pricing.

Meanwhile, the Ether options market saw a significant increase in interest to $6.83 billion, though still below the $8 billion recorded in September 2022, when Ethereum transitioned to a proof-of-stake mechanism.