Other-News

Story: Bitcoin Drops Near $70K as Major Options Expiry Looms

By Jean-Luc Maracon

1 / 15

Bitcoin fell close to $70,000 on Friday after a short bounce earlier this week, and traders are pretty nervous about what's coming next.

2 / 15

A massive $2.2 billion in Bitcoin options contracts expire on March 10, which could shake up the market big time. These kinds of events usually move prices around quite a bit.

3 / 15

Bitcoin hit record highs recently. Then this happened.

4 / 15

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange says open interest for Bitcoin options reached crazy high levels, way more than usual.

5 / 15

But there's more going on than just options. Fed Chair Jerome Powell hinted at possible rate changes on March 5, and that's got investors on edge too.

6 / 15

Glassnode spotted more Bitcoin flowing into exchanges over the past week. That usually means people are getting ready to sell when volatility hits.

7 / 15

Some traders are playing defense, setting up hedges to protect themselves. Others see opportunity in all this chaos.

8 / 15

CNBC's Sarah Thompson pointed out that the Consumer Price Index data drops on March 14, just a few days after the options expire.

9 / 15

Chainalysis saw Bitcoin transaction volumes spike on March 3. Both big institutions and regular traders are moving money around, trying to either cash in or protect themselves…

10 / 15

Ark Invest's Cathie Wood thinks the options expiry could trigger even more volatility during a March 4 webcast.

11 / 15

Kraken's Dan Held compared the current situation to other high-stakes moments in Bitcoin's past.

12 / 15

No major exchanges have made official statements yet. Traders keep watching every development as March 10 gets closer.

13 / 15

The countdown is on, and speculation is running high. Strategies are getting tweaked left and right as people try to position themselves for whatever comes next.

14 / 15

With institutional interest still strong despite the jitters, Bitcoin remains a major player in financial markets.

15 / 15

Trading activity suggests people are taking this seriously. Whether Bitcoin bounces back stronger or takes a bigger hit depends on how these contracts settle and what happens…

The Currency Analytics

Want the full story?