Debasement Bets Diverge in Gold and Bitcoin Options
Investors are taking different approaches to betting on debasement in gold and Bitcoin. For gold, options flows indicate a strong bullish bias with minimal downside insurance. In contrast, traders are leaning bullish on Bitcoin but pairing those bets with puts near current levels.
The divergence is evident around Sept. 18, when two significant option expiries are scheduled to occur. The SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) has $75.8 billion of notional options expiring on that date, while BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has roughly $5.8 billion maturing.
Gold's call bias extends beyond the Fed meeting in October and next year, partly due to central bank demand. In contrast, Bitcoin traders are hedging their bets by buying puts to protect against a potential pullback.