Crypto shares fell as bitcoin dropped below $67K. Coinbase, Bitfarms down over 5%; Riot Platforms, Robinhood, Strategy, MARA down around 4%.
Bitcoin touched a more than two-week low with traders assuming a defensive posture following the largest expiry of option this year.
Roughly $14 billion of Bitcoin options expired Friday, as measured by the number for outstanding contracts, known as open interest. The quarterly rollover comes amid conflicting signals on the prospect of a halt to the nearly month-long war in the Middle East.
Looking at traders’ positions, they seem to be anticipating a prolonged war, potential stagflation, and “forced rate hikes,” leading to a significant increase in bearish sentiment, said Griffin Ardern, Co-founder of multi-asset manager Primal Fund.
The highest open interest is now concentrated in $60,000 puts, according to data compiled by Deribit. Traders often use puts - which give the holder the right to sell the underlying asset at a specific price - to hedge against declines. The put/call ratio over the past 24 hours stands at 1.3, indicating increased demand for downside protection heading into the weekend.
Bitcoin fell as much as 4% to $66,223, the lowest since March 9. The original cryptocurrency has been stuck between roughly $60,000 and $75,000 in recent weeks, drifting well below its October 2025 peak of around $126,000 after a market-wide crash on Oct. 10.
