Cryptocurrencies remain weak during U.S. trading hours…"Defensive sentiment strengthens ahead of options expiry worth about 28 trillion won"

Cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), showed weakness once again during U.S. trading hours, with defensive sentiment strengthening ahead of options expiry.

According to CoinDesk on the 23rd (local time), Bitcoin faced steady downward pressure since the early U.S. session and fell to around $88,000. Ethereum also failed to hold $3,000 and showed a pullback. As crypto prices corrected, some related stocks trimmed gains from their intraday highs.

However, differentiated moves were also observed among crypto-related stocks. Bitcoin miner Hut 8 rose 16% on expectations from a 15-year AI data center lease deal signed last week. An upward revision to the price target by Benchmark analyst Mark Farmer also supported the stock. Coinbase and Robinhood also maintained gains but retreated from intraday highs as crypto prices fell. MicroStrategy (MSTR) turned slightly down after an initial uptick.

A large options expiry is cited as the background for increased market volatility. On the 27th, crypto derivatives exchange Deribit will see Bitcoin and Ethereum options totaling $28.5 billion expire. This accounts for more than half of total open interest. Jean-David Pecquignon, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) at Deribit, said, "Year-end options expiries symbolize a market structure led by institutions maturing alongside a policy-driven cycle shift."

He said Bitcoin's options 'max pain' level is set at $96,000, and about $1.2 billion of put open interest is concentrated at the $85,000 strike. He analyzed that if selling pressure increases, spot prices could be pulled toward that range. In the short term, defensive put option premiums have become relatively expensive, while in the medium term call spread positions targeting $100,000 to $125,000 are also being maintained.

Pecquignon explained, "Recently, traders in the options market have been adopting strategies to roll defensive positions forward rather than close them out." In fact, flows have been observed moving from December expiry $85,000–$70,000 puts to January expiry $80,000–$75,000 put spreads. The interpretation is that market participants are managing short-term year-end risk while maintaining caution about market volatility after the new year.