Bitcoin’s price nears $95,000 ahead of options expiry, with bullish market sentiment growing. Analysts see strong call interest at $100,000 strike price. Bitfinex experts suggest higher strikes signalling upside potential while remain cautious of short-term volatility amid external economic pressures.
In today’s US Morning Crypto News Briefing, we dive into significant developments surrounding Bitcoin’s potential ascent towards the elusive $100,000 mark. Make sure to grab your coffee as we explore fresh data on Bitcoin’s price outlook amid key insights from the options market, especially with the April month’s options expiring today at 8:00 UTC on Deribit.
Throughout the early hours of the Asian session, there was a notable expiry of over $8 billion in options tied to both Bitcoin and Ethereum. Impressively, Bitcoin’s portion of that was more than $7 billion in notional value. In a twist, Bitcoin traded well above its so-called max pain level—or strike price—set at $86,000. Typically, as options near expiry, asset prices tend to gravitate towards that max pain level. Bitcoin was recorded at $93,471 right before expiry, now seeing a price of $94,581.
The folks at Bitfinex shared some insights with BeInCrypto regarding the market outlook, hinting at promising movement for Bitcoin after overcoming option-linked resistance. Their statement indicated a cautiously bullish sentiment among traders. “With the $90,000 strike cluster cleared, there’s decreased overhead resistance,” said Bitfinex analysts. Moreover, they noted many have shifted their exposure to higher strikes, with $95,000 and $100,000 showing rising call open interest for both end-April and May.
This shift indeed hints at potential further gains, although the analysts cautioned that some short-term volatility might still be in play. Supporting this, Deribit data shows the bulk of BTC options open interest concentrates around the $100,000 strike, indicating robust market anticipation for Bitcoin to hit this target. BeInCrypto also mentioned that traders selling cash-secured puts have driven this sentiment, coupled with their use of stablecoins to leverage their positions while waiting for Bitcoin’s price to dip.
Another noteworthy mention is the Cumulative delta across BTC and related ETFs on Deribit, which has now reached $9 billion. There’s a consensus here, as Bitfinex analysts affirm the uptick in spot flows and ETF demand for Bitcoin. They suggest that these factors will determine if Bitcoin can maintain $90,000 as a solid support level moving forward.
Yet, caution is advised by some in the field. Innokenty Isers, the CEO of Paybis Exchange, warned that Bitcoin could face headwinds as it tries to climb higher. Particularly, he pointed out investor hesitancy driven by uncertainties related to ongoing tariff disputes, which might influence decisions against more volatile assets like Bitcoin.
It’s important to note, Isers did observe a clear trend of institutional investors accumulating Bitcoin recently, as well as interest from market whales, indicating a stronger long-term outlook amid short-term fears.
In terms of trading volumes, today’s chart highlights that call options at strike prices of $95,000 and $100,000 are leading in trades, especially as we edge closer to the May 2 expiry date.
For a summary of notable movements, Bitcoin rebounded significantly in April, rallying 25%, which suggests a shift in market sentiment, moving from fear into greed according to the Crypto Fear & Greed Index. Moreover, Cardano witnessed a 15% increase this week, reinforcing a bullish structure despite some consolidation signs. Additionally, Bitcoin ETFs have enjoyed consistent inflows, hitting $442 million on Thursday alone, amounting to a weekly total of $2.68 billion.
Beyond that, the Base blockchain saw a robust increase in Total Value Locked (TVL), rising by $557 million after Binance.US began supporting ETH and USDC transfers. SUI token has also jumped 62% this week, spurred by speculation of a collaboration with Pokémon, linked to Parasol Technologies. Finally, the recently launched USD1 stablecoin is now under the supervision of the EU’s MiCA regulations, raising the bar for transparency and reserve backing. On the flip side, Arbitrum’s attempt to join Nvidia’s Ignition AI Accelerator faced rejection, a decision aligned with Nvidia’s risk management strategies which exclude cryptocurrency projects altogether.
