Ethereum Options Concentrate at $4000 Strike as Spot ETF Decision Looms
Date: 2024-02-09 Author: Dima Zakharov Categories: BLOCKCHAIN
Ethereum (ETH) options data reveals a significant concentration at a $4000 strike price set to expire in June 2024, as reported by Deribit, a major crypto derivatives platform. Luke Strayers, the commercial director of Deribit, shared graphs with The Block illustrating this data.
According to Strayers, this $4000 mark stands out as the largest for both June and September expiry dates. Notably, there are currently no tradable May expiry dates, leaving traders to focus on June and April. The concentration at $4000 implies market participants anticipate ETH's price to surpass this level by the options expiry date, potentially indicating a bullish trend in the coming months.
Analysts find it noteworthy that this concentration in ETH call options at $4000 follows closely after the potential approval date of a spot ETF for Ethereum, set for late May this year. Traders are adjusting their options contracts in anticipation of this event, according to Jag Kuner, head of derivatives at Bitfinex.
However, Strayers cautioned against drawing definitive conclusions about traders' expectations of ETH price hikes. He noted that while June's deviation is higher than April's, it's challenging to attribute it solely to ETF news or expected correlations following Bitcoin's halving.
As of February 9, 2024, Ethereum's price stood at $2510, with a market capitalization of $301.69 billion.
