On Monday, Bitcoin (BTC) and various other cryptocurrencies experienced a significant decline during the U.S. trading session. BTC dropped below $88,000 after briefly surpassing the $90,000 mark earlier in the day, while Ethereum (ETH) fell back under $3,000.
Despite this downturn in cryptocurrency prices, some stocks associated with crypto are still managing to maintain their gains. Hut 8 Mining Corp (HUT) is leading this trend with a notable increase following its recent agreement for a long-term AI data center lease with Fluidstack. On Monday alone, shares of Hut 8 surged by 16%, buoyed by an upgraded price target from Benchmark’s Mark Palmer.
Other companies showing positive movement include Coinbase (COIN) and Robinhood (HOOD), although both have retreated from their peak session values as cryptocurrency prices have declined. MicroStrategy Inc. (MSTR), which initially saw a gain of about 3%, shifted to report a slight loss later in the day.
Options Expiration
The current volatility in prices fluctuating between $85,000 and $90,000 comes just ahead of Friday’s unprecedented expiration of options worth $28.5 billion for BTC and ETH on Deribit’s crypto derivatives exchange. This figure accounts for over half of Deribit’s total open interest amounting to $52.2 billion, as highlighted by Jean-David Pequignot, the exchange’s chief commercial officer.
“This end-of-year expiration signifies the conclusion of a year characterized by institutional growth and a transition from speculative trends to policy-driven supercycles,” Pequignot stated.
Piquignot further explained that bitcoin’s “max pain” level stands at approximately $96,000—a point where option writers would reap maximum benefits. A substantial open interest totaling around $1.2 billion is concentrated at the put strike price of $85,000; if selling pressure intensifies here it could drive spot prices downwards further. Although mid-term call spreads aiming for targets between $100K–$125K remain active; short-term protective puts have seen an increase in cost recently.
The disparity between call and put pricing has decreased from previous peaks but still suggests caution among traders according to Pequignot’s observations.
Traders seem inclined towards extending their defensive positions rather than liquidating them entirely; there has been noticeable movement from December puts priced between $85K–$70K into January spreads set at around $80K–$75K puts—indicating that while immediate risks approaching year-end are being mitigated effectively; traders continue to be cautious about future developments ahead.