Bitcoin Options Market Shifts to Bearish Bets Ahead of August

The Bitcoin options market has shifted its focus from bullish bets to bearish ones as traders hedge against potential declines. According to Deribit, the $60,000 put option now leads with a notional open interest of 1.17 billion dollars. Historically, July has shown a median return of 8.61%, but a positive July is often followed by a negative August, which has a median return of -7.51%. This trend suggests a bearish outlook for Bitcoin as August approaches.

Recently, Bitcoin fell below $60,000 but has since recovered to over $63,000. In the past, call options at $70,000 and $72,000 were favored, each with a notional open interest of 2.5 billion dollars, driven by expectations of a price increase following the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision. However, those bullish bets were closed after the anticipated rise did not materialize, leading to a drop in open interest for the $70,000 call to 943 million dollars and the $72,000 call to 888 million dollars.