Bitcoin price may drop to $63,000 due to the expiration of $3.9 billion worth of Bitcoin futures options. One of the largest futures exchanges, Deribit, saw $3.9 billion worth of Bitcoin futures options expire at 11:00 AM. This could increase Bitcoin’s maximum resistance point to $63,000, triggering more downward pressure for the world’s first cryptocurrency.
What’s Happening in the Markets?
Periods close to options expiration are usually characterized by increased price volatility in the crypto markets. The maximum resistance point indicates the price at which most options contracts will expire worthless, but it does not guarantee that the underlying asset will fall to that price.
A total of $5.48 billion worth of cryptocurrency options expired on Deribit, with $1.57 billion of that being Ethereum options. Despite the launch of the first spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETF) on July 23, Ethereum is struggling to gain momentum.
CoinMarketCap data shows that Ethereum’s price rose over 2.3% on the daily chart but fell over 4.5% in the past week, trading just below $3,250 as of 14:02.
According to Bitfinex analysts, the reason behind Ethereum’s stagnant price movement could be a news-selling event surrounding Ethereum ETF funds:
“An Ethereum ETF news-selling effect is in motion. Global Ethereum open interest fell by $1.17 billion immediately after peaking on July 23, just before the product’s launch. Many futures and perpetual positions added in anticipation of the ETF launch are now delivering their positions.”
Notable Analyst’s Remark
According to popular crypto analyst Rekt Capital, Bitcoin needs to hold above the current $65,000 level, which serves as a key support. The analyst wrote to his 483,000 followers in an X post on July 26:
“The retest was successful. Bitcoin confirmed $65,000 as support, and the price will now continue to trade in the $65,000-$71,500 range (red).”
Positive Bitcoin ETF inflows could contribute to Bitcoin’s momentum. According to Farside Investors, US-based spot Bitcoin ETF funds recorded a total of $31.1 million in value on July 25, marking the second consecutive positive inflow.
