The total number of open contracts on Bitcoin options has hit a new record. On Thursday, March 7, data pooled from a few major exchanges showed that the total worth surpassed $1 billion.
According to info from crypto research service Skew, the exchanges include CME, OKEx, Bakkt, LedgerX, and Deribit. The previous record was on February 14, at $970 million. Deribit represented almost 90% of the new total figure as its own open positions hit $903 million.
The spike is encouraging when the Bitcoin plunge in March is considered. On March 12, Bitcoin plunged to $3,600. The day is still popularly referred to as ‘Black Thursday.’ Open positions on that day came in at $410 million.
Options are derivative contracts and are divided into a call and put options. They allow the buyer to purchase the asset in question, at a price already agreed, and on an agreed date. Call options are for purchases while put options are for sales. Open interest is the number of trading options contracts that are yet to be liquidated.
As the halving keeps inching closer, the demand for Bitcoin is expected to keep increasing. Network activity including purchase, sales, open contracts, and also hash rates are likely to increase. The number of active Bitcoin addresses is also on the rise.
Bitfinex recently launched a perpetual contract to speculate Bitcoin’s market dominance.
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