$68 Million in Bitcoin Options Target $90,000 After Elections
A large position on Derive points to growing demand for Bitcoin calls, as traders price in higher levels around the U.S. midterm elections.
Key Takeaways
- Bitcoin has been trading around $80,000 for days, while ether, XRP, Solana, and Dogecoin are also showing little direction.
- A trader on Derive bought 800 Bitcoin call options with a strike price of $90,000, worth about $68 million in notional value.
- Derive sees more optimism: the odds of Bitcoin being above $100,000 by Christmas rose, while the chance of a drop below $70,000 fell.
Bitcoin has been trading around $80,000 (€71,500) for days, showing little direction. Ether, XRP, Solana, and Dogecoin are barely moving too. Still, a large options position on the decentralized platform Derive is drawing attention, because a trader is betting on Bitcoin rising above $90,000 (€80,400) shortly after the U.S. midterm elections in early November.
Large Position on Derive
According to Derive, a single wallet bought 800 contracts of $90,000 (€80,400) call options on October 20 that expire on November 6. Each contract represents 1 Bitcoin. At the current price, that works out to about $68 million (€60.8 million) in notional value, according to the platform. Derive called this the largest open Bitcoin position on the platform.
The setup was not just a straight bet on a higher price. The wallet also sold 400 contracts of $100,000 (€89,300) calls expiring in March 2027 and another 400 contracts of $90,000 (€80,400) calls expiring on October 30. Net, that brought in about $940,000 (€839,800) after financing the purchase.
More Demand for Higher Levels
Beyond this position, Derive also sees the market becoming a bit more optimistic about higher Bitcoin levels. The market-implied chance that Bitcoin will be above $100,000 (€89,300) by Christmas rose from 9.7% a week ago to 12%. The chance of a drop below $70,000 (€62,500) fell over the same period from 15.6% to 11%.
That fits into a broader shift in the crypto derivatives market. Bitcoin options now make up almost 60% of total open interest in crypto derivatives, showing that investors are increasingly using options to hedge risk or bet on a specific outcome. At the same time, open interest in Bitcoin options on the CME has dropped sharply this year, from nearly $290 million (€259 million) at the end of November to about $30 million (€26.8 million) to $40 million (€35.7 million) by mid-June 2026.
Why This Matters
For European crypto readers, this is especially relevant because trading in Bitcoin options is increasingly sending its own signal alongside the spot market. The combination of a large position around the U.S. elections and rising year-end expectations shows how strongly political and macro events still ripple through the crypto market. That does not mean the price has to move in the same direction right away, but it does show that professional traders are clearly paying more attention to hedging and higher price targets.
