Bitcoin Options Volume Tilts Bearish as $74,500 Puts Lead Short-Term Hedging

Bitcoin (BTC) options traders concentrated their short-term activity on downside protection and bearish bets, with a $74,500 put emerging as the most actively traded contract over the past 24 hours—an indication that near-dated hedging demand is rising as the market assesses near-term price risk.

Data compiled by Coinglass as of April 22 (00:00 UTC) showed total Bitcoin options 'open interest' (OI) at $39.35 billion, up about 2.53% from $38.38 billion a day earlier. By outstanding positions, calls accounted for 55.75% of OI versus 44.25% for puts, suggesting longer-dated positioning still leans modestly bullish even as short-term flow tilts defensive.

Options trading volume over the last 24 hours totaled roughly $3.867 billion, led by Deribit at $2.11 billion. By venue, activity was distributed across Bybit ($793 million), Binance ($502 million), OKX ($409 million), and CME ($54.67 million), underscoring that liquidity remains heavily concentrated offshore even as regulated U.S. participation continues to build gradually through CME.

In the most recent 24-hour window, puts made up 56.89% of volume, outpacing calls at 43.11%. The top-traded contracts were all near-term puts on Deribit—$74,500 puts expiring April 24, $74,000 puts expiring April 25, and $75,000 puts expiring April 24—highlighting demand clustered around nearby strike levels that can act as 'key hedging zones' if spot volatility accelerates.

By contrast, the largest pools of outstanding positioning were concentrated in higher-dated, higher-strike calls and deep-out-of-the-money protective puts. The biggest OI stood in an $80,000 call expiring May 29 on Deribit, followed by a $120,000 call expiring December 25, and a $60,000 put expiring December 25. That mix points to a market simultaneously maintaining upside exposure to a potential breakout later in the year while keeping tail-risk insurance on the books.

Options are derivatives that allow traders to express leveraged views on price direction or hedge existing exposure. A 'call option' gives the right to buy at a preset price (typically a bullish position), while a 'put option' gives the right to sell at a preset price (typically bearish or protective). 'Open interest' measures how many option contracts remain outstanding, offering a window into the cumulative size of positions rather than just daily turnover.

For the broader market, the divergence between call-heavy OI and put-heavy short-term volume suggests positioning is becoming more two-sided: investors appear to be keeping longer-term upside structures intact while buying near-dated downside protection into the week’s catalysts and liquidity conditions. Whether that defensive flow persists will likely depend on spot BTC’s ability to hold nearby support levels and the direction of implied volatility into end-of-week expiries.