Bitcoin Options Skew Bullish as Open Interest Holds Near $25 Billion

Bitcoin (BTC) options positioning remained broadly steady on Sunday, with overall open interest holding near record levels while ‘bullish’ exposure continued to outweigh defensive bets. Trading flows also leaned toward calls, suggesting short-term sentiment stayed relatively constructive despite muted growth in outstanding contracts.

As of 9:41 a.m. Monday in Seoul (8:41 p.m. Sunday ET), aggregated data from Coinglass put total Bitcoin options open interest (OI) at $25.33 billion, down just 0.04% from the prior day’s $25.34 billion. Notional trading volume over the past 24 hours was approximately $1.12 billion.

The composition of outstanding contracts underscored a persistent tilt toward upside positioning. Calls accounted for 60.39% of total OI versus 39.61% for puts, indicating that medium-dated exposure in the options market remains skewed toward expectations of a rebound or further upside. Over the past 24 hours, calls represented 54.88% of trading volume, while puts made up 45.12%, reinforcing the view that near-term activity has been more focused on ‘upside participation’ than on downside hedging.

Market participants often differentiate between OI—a measure of accumulated positioning—and daily volume, which can reflect tactical adjustments. In this case, flat OI alongside call-leading flows suggests traders are rotating or expressing directional views without a large net build in leverage, rather than aggressively adding new risk to the system.

By contract, the largest concentrations of open interest were clustered around major year-end and quarterly expiries on Deribit. The top OI strikes were the $80,000 call expiring Dec. 25, the $60,000 put expiring Dec. 25, and the $70,000 call expiring Sept. 25. The mix of high OI in both an upper call strike and a lower put strike points to a market still actively using options for both ‘directional positioning’ and ‘tail-risk hedging’ into key expiries.

In the past 24 hours, the most actively traded contracts were concentrated on Bybit’s near-dated expiries for Aug. 10. The leading contract by volume was the $66,000 call, followed by the $64,500 put and the $65,750 call. The prominence of closely spaced strikes around the mid-$60,000 region suggests traders are focusing on short-term price pivots, using calls to monetize upside scenarios while simultaneously keeping puts in play as a hedge against abrupt reversals.

Options are commonly used either to take leveraged views on price direction or to hedge spot and futures exposure. Calls provide the right—but not the obligation—to buy an asset at a predetermined price, typically reflecting a ‘bullish’ stance, while puts provide the right to sell, often used to express ‘bearish’ expectations or downside protection. With OI stable and calls retaining a clear share advantage, the options market continues to reflect a cautiously optimistic baseline—though the meaningful share of put activity indicates traders remain attentive to volatility and potential drawdowns.