Bitcoin fluctuates around $110,000 support… whale selling, increased demand for put options

Bitcoin is holding steady around $110,000. While selling by large holders (whales) and increased short-term demand for put options are putting pressure on the market, investor sentiment has been dampened by U.S.-China trade tensions and a prolonged U.S. government shutdown.

On the 16th (local time), according to The Block, Timothy Misir, head of BRN Research, said, "Bitcoin is testing the key $110,000 support area, and whale investors are taking some profits," and "The size of put option trading is $1.15 billion, accounting for 28% of all trades."

According to the data, the put-call open interest ratio in the Bitcoin options market exceeds 0.5, and the short-term skew (options bias) has sharply turned negative. This indicates that investors are taking defensive positions to guard against downside risk. Implied volatility (IV) has exceeded 60% and returned to the level seen during the sharp drop in early October.

Despite this weakness, structural demand is still assessed as firm. Matt Mena, research strategist at 21Shares, said, "ETF inflows and a dovish monetary policy stance are supporting the downside of Bitcoin's price," and "Over the past month, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen inflows of more than $6 billion." He added, "As leverage is liquidated and policy easing approaches, a gradual recovery through the end of the year is likely."