bitcoin Traders are increasingly taking defensive positions, preparing for a possible price drop below $80,000 in the new year.
“The sharp move downwards in bias shows traders accumulating put options, especially at the Dec. 26 expiry, where open interest has been concentrated around the $84,000 and $80,000 strike prices,” Nick Forster, co-founder of Derive, said in a market note.
“That positioning implies a significant probability that BTC will be below $80,000 starting in 2026,” he added.
At the time of writing, BTC changed hands around $87,000, representing a 30% decline from the all-time high of over $126,000 reached on October 8, according to data from CoinDesk.
Forster said the downtrend may not be over and market participants are pricing in a volatile December. “I don’t think it’s bottomed out. Short-term volatility is now above long-term BTC volatility, indicating the market is expecting huge swings as we head into the new year,” Forster said.
