Bitcoin traders are piling into outsized bets that its price will rise above $140,000 by the end of September.
Data from crypto derivatives exchange Deribit shows more than $868 million worth of September call options at that strike price. Calls are bullish option bets that the price of the underlying asset will exceed the strike price upon the contract’s expiry, which in this case is $140,000 by September 26.
Such implicit bullish bias signals a strong belief in Bitcoin’s upward momentum, just as Bitcoin broke past $112,000 on Wednesday, to log a new all-time high.
Earlier this month, several market watchers predicted that Bitcoin was primed for a big price push in July.
Markus Thielen, CEO of 10x Research, predicted that Bitcoin could reach $116,000 while Bitwise analysts forecasted an even bigger price push to $136,000 in July.
Bitcoin traders share the same conviction, as even short-dated contracts show similar bullish bias. Traders are betting Bitcoin will exceed $120,000 by the end of July, based on data from Deribit.
Roberts said big-money players are increasingly adopting Bitcoin as a macro hedge and that altcoins failing to mount a significant recovery is also adding to Bitcoin’s shine.
Illia Otychenjo, lead analyst at CEX.IO, a crypto exchange, previously predicted that $64 billion in capital could shift from altcoins to Bitcoin this quarter.
For many market watchers, there are several reasons to be bullish about Bitcoin, even if crypto volumes will dwindle during the summer months.
Corporate treasuries are growing fonder of Bitcoin, and that could add steady buying pressure. In the last 30 days alone, at least 21 companies have announced plans to deploy about $3.5 billion into their Bitcoin treasuries.
The expectation of an imminent Bitcoin surge may also be boosted by traders pricing in interest rate cuts by the end of the quarter. Data from the CME FedWatch tool shows a 63% chance the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates by September.
Lower interest rates are usually a boon for investments in risk-on assets like Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
