Bitcoin Put Options Trading With $1M Premium Highlights BTC Price Decline Fears

Bids on the deals are higher than options expiring at the end of May, reflecting concerns about falling prices.

Author: Omkar Godbole | Edited by: Sheldon Reback Updated: April 1, 2025, 15:03 UTC Published: April 1, 2025, 09:31 UTC

Important points:

• Significant activity in the Bitcoin options market on Deribit points to bearish sentiment, with a trader placing over $1 million in $70,000 put options expiring on April 25.
• The market is seeing growing interest in BTC put options, highlighting investor concerns about the potential economic impact of expected US tariff decisions.

A significant bet on Bitcoin (BTC) options appeared on the Deribit platform on Monday as the first quarter was ending, indicating a bearish sentiment from the trader associated with the trade.

The so-called block trade resulted in a premium of more than $1 million on 1,180 contracts of $70,000 put options expiring on April 25, according to Amberdata.

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A put option gives its owner the right, but not the obligation, to sell the underlying asset at a predetermined price in the future. The buyer of a put option is essentially bearish, in this case expecting the price to fall below $70,000 from the current $84,000.

A block trade is a large, negotiated private transaction carried out outside the open market, typically by institutions, to avoid significant impact on current market prices.

Other notable trades included put spreads that involved being long the $75,000 strike and double short the $70,000 put; and a risk reversal that involved being long the $90,000 call and short the $70,000 put, Pelion Capital founder Tony Stewart noted.

The bearish flow into $70,000 puts followed buying of April 4 puts in the $78,000 to $85,000 range last week and increased interest in the $76,000 put expiring April 25.

Overall, BTC puts are trading at a premium to calls, indicating negative sentiment leading up to expiration at the end of May, as indicated by the negative values in the risk reversals.