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The price of Bitcoin has plummeted to $62,274 low on Monday. The asset’s price correction has liquidated over $80 million in derivatives, according to Coinglass data. Bitcoin halving, a key event, is less than five days away and traders feel the jitters ahead of the mining difficulty adjustment, consistent with previous halvings. 

Bitcoin options traders jittery ahead of BTC halving 

Bitcoin options market has long been a reliable indicator for the asset’s price in spot markets. Loss of confidence among options traders is typically followed by a steep correction in BTC price across exchanges in the spot market. 

BTC price is influenced by two major catalysts on April 15, the mining difficulty adjustment (Bitcoin halving) and the institutional capital inflow to US-based Bitcoin ETFs. 

Once the halving occurs, it is estimated to reduce the circulating supply of BTC in the market, by cutting emission by 50% to 3.125 tokens per block. 

Options data from Coinglass shows that $82.57 million in derivatives positions was liquidated as Bitcoin price dipped to a low of $62,274 on Monday, April 15. 

Volume of derivatives trades has dropped by 33%, five days away from the halving event. 

The asset is in a state of decline, trading range bound between $60,600 and $73,000, for the past thirty days. 

Options open interest for contracts expiring April 19, a day prior to the Bitcoin halving shows that strike prices of $54,000 and $60,000 listed on Deribit exchange have the highest concentration of puts. 

Put options give traders the right but not the obligation, to sell the underlying asset at a specified price, at a later date. A concentration of puts is therefore a bearish bet on the asset. 

(Click on image to enlarge)

Options open interest by strike price 

The above chart shows that a day prior to the Bitcoin halving, the open interest in $60,000 put is 1,060 contracts or $67.17 million. 

Experts weigh in on Bitcoin halving

The statistics are signs of pre-halving jitters among traders and this is consistent with experts’ comments that the Bitcoin halving is almost priced in. 

Caitlin Long, Founder and CEO of Custodia Bank, said in a recent tweet on X, that the “Bitcoin halving seems like a no-biggie,” meaning it is likely already priced in.

INTERESTING: this #Bitcoin #halving seems like a no-biggie. Different vs past halvings:
* 2020: CT filled w/ arguments abt whether it was priced in (it wasn't)
* 2016: a Bitcoin dev privately shared big fears abt miners--hashrate did dip but recovered fast
* 2012:🤷‍♀️I was learning

— Caitlin Long 🔑⚡️🟠 (@CaitlinLong_) April 15, 2024

CEO of Marathon Digital Holdings, Fred Thiel, told Bloomberg Crypto that the Bitcoin halving is already partially priced in. These statements are concurrent with derivatives traders’ expectation that the price may fade in the short term, similar to the Bitcoin ETF approval by the US SEC. 

Bitcoin price is $63,446, at the time of writing.

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