Bitcoin options indicate a bullish target price of rising to $115,000 by the end of the year

Bitcoin bulls have high expectations for the year-end options expiring on December 25, involving about $6 billion in funds. Since the year’s low of $60,130 on February 6, the BTC price has risen by 33%, which has largely driven the return of bullish sentiment in the market. However, the large number of call (buy) options with target prices pointing to $115,000 and above has also raised questions about whether the bulls are overly optimistic.

The Deribit trading platform holds a 92% market share in December Bitcoin options open interest, reaching $5.5 billion. On Deribit, put (sell) options have decreased by 56% compared to call options, as crypto traders have traditionally favored bullish positions, with the put-call ratio typically skewed. Even so, the open interest for call options at $115,000 and above amounts to $1.85 billion, which is still a considerable size. However, the number of put options at $55,000 and below is also significant, with total open interest of $1 billion. This indicates that both sides are viewed as having a similar proportion of bets deemed unlikely to materialize, each accounting for about 50% of their respective open interest segments. If the bulls are seen as overly optimistic, the bears also seem to be equally extreme in their pessimism.

The options skew indicator more clearly reflects professional traders' comfort levels regarding upside and downside price risks. Put options are trading at a 9% premium relative to equivalent call options, indicating moderate concern about Bitcoin's downside price volatility. Under neutral conditions, the skew indicator should be between -6% and +6%. According to derivatives indicators, investor optimism has not been materially affected during Bitcoin's rise to $80,000. Ultimately, the $1.85 billion in call options for December should not be interpreted as a signal of excessive confidence from the bulls.