Crypto Options Market Starting to Have Material Impact on Spot Market: QCP Capital

While a correlation between equities and crypto has become more apparent during the last year, Singapore’s QCP wrote that there is a limit to this correlation because of the increasing importance of the crypto options market.

• As the bitcoin and ether markets followed the bearish sentiment of the equities market as the week began, bitcoin and ether tumbled below $40,000 and $3,000, respectively.
• QCP wrote there was a bounce-back because of the number of strikes at the $40,000 mark for bitcoin, and the $3,000 mark for ether, held by the large holders known as whales.
• The fund noted there was a counterparty that was buying a large amount of downside risk reversals (where a trader buys the put and sells the call) who suddenly switched positions to take profit (where they sell the put and buy the call).
• With the volume of delta trading (simultaneously buying and selling options) on the strikes at $40,000 and $3,000, there was a creation of spot support at those levels, QCP wrote.
• QCP said one reason why bitcoin is facing some resistance at the $44,000 market is a whale began taking profit on his $42,000 January calls as bitcoin drifted towards $44,000.
• “We think option activity will increasingly dictate spot movements as the option market continues to grow,” the firm wrote.

Read more: Bitcoin’s Near 40% Slide Weighs on Crypto Stocks While Coinbase Outperforms