Bitcoin Options Open Interest Drops 17% as $120,000 Call Dominance Persists

Bitcoin (BTC) options traders appear to be clearing out leverage at scale, but positioning continues to lean bullish, with the largest concentration of open bets still clustered around a $120,000 year-end call option.

Data compiled by CoinGlass showed total Bitcoin options 'open interest' (OI) at $31.81 billion as of 1:00 a.m. ET on Sunday, little changed from the prior reading of $31.76 billion. The steadier day-to-day figure, however, masked a sharp weekly drawdown: OI was down roughly 17.6% compared with May 29, signaling a meaningful reduction in outstanding derivatives exposure across venues.

Despite the contraction, the market’s positioning mix remained skewed toward upside structures. Calls accounted for 59.37% of total OI, versus 40.63% in puts—an allocation that suggests traders are still maintaining 'bullish conviction' even as aggregate positioning resets. Over the past 24 hours, call options also led in activity, representing 57.74% of volume compared with 42.26% for puts.

Total BTC options trading volume was about $2.374 billion over the same period. By exchange, Deribit remained the dominant venue at $1.37 billion, followed by Bybit at $996 million. OKX posted $212 million, Binance recorded $145 million, and CME registered about $10 million, underscoring the continued concentration of crypto options liquidity on offshore, crypto-native platforms.

The largest OI clusters highlight where traders are placing their medium- to longer-term markers. The single most crowded contract was a $120,000 call expiring Dec. 25 on Deribit, reflecting a notable 'year-end upside' thesis. Next was a $60,000 put for the same Dec. 25 expiry—often interpreted as either a hedge against a deep drawdown or a volatility positioning tool—followed by a $80,000 call expiring July 31, also on Deribit.

Short-dated flows, meanwhile, were concentrated on Bybit’s June 1 expiries, where the most actively traded contracts over the last 24 hours included a $73,500 put, a $74,500 call, and a $73,000 put. The clustering around nearby strikes suggests traders are actively managing near-term price risk and gamma exposure rather than simply building longer-duration directional bets.

Market participants often watch the relationship between OI and trading volume to distinguish between longer-term positioning and tactical hedging. A drop in OI typically points to position closures or expirations outpacing new openings, while a call-heavy OI mix can coexist with put-heavy short-term volume during periods when traders seek downside protection against sudden volatility. In this case, the sharp reduction in outstanding exposure paired with persistent call dominance implies a broad deleveraging event—without a decisive shift away from upside expectations.

For the broader BTC market, the data suggests traders are reducing overall risk while keeping an eye on higher-end price scenarios into the end of the year. Whether the $120,000 strike remains a focal point will likely depend on spot-market momentum and how volatility is repriced as key macro and crypto-specific catalysts unfold through the summer.