Market Wrap: Bitcoin Has Light Response to OKEx While Ether Options Traders Make Beacon Bets

Oct 16, 2020 at 20:34 UTC.Bitcoin rebounded from an OKEx-related drop; ether options traders may be beacon chain bearish.

Spot traders punched the sell button around 04:00 UTC on the news that Malta-based exchange OKEx suspended withdrawals due to an investigation of a key operations person.

William Purdy, an options trader and founder of analysis firm PurdyAlerts, noted the resilience of the market in the face of negative sentiment.

Despite the drop, the price per one bitcoin is still hovering around the $11,400-$11,500 range it has been in since Oct. 9.Yet, in the bitcoin options market, traders appear to be preparing for further fallout.

Open interest in bitcoin options keeps trending upward, according to Purdy.

Specifically, Purdy sees a trend with an increase in the put/call ratio on bitcoin options.

These two trends combined reflect the possibility of big market movements in the near-term by options traders.

The second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, ether, was down Friday trading around $366 and slipping 3.1% in 24 hours as of 20:00 UTC.Ether traders are loading up on options for a Dec. 25 expiration.

As of press time, 439,813 ETH, worth $161,851,184 at current prices, are set to expire on Deribit, the largest options venue in the market.

A date has not yet been set for the beacon chain launch but is expected in 2020."Ether options remain concentrated in December expiration," Magadini told CoinDesk.