Bitcoin Drops as Investors Buy $22K and $20K Puts
Bitcoin is falling a day after the options market saw increased demand for out-of-the-money or lower strike put options at $22,000 and $20,000. The leading cryptocurrency was trading at a three-week low of $30,700 at press time, representing a 3.5% drop on the day. The decline has flipped the crucial 50-week simple moving average (SMA) support of $32,250 into resistance.
On Sunday, 500 contracts of the $22,000 put option expiring on Dec. 31 changed hands via the institution-focused over-the-counter (OTC) desk Paradigm. Similar volume crossed the tape for the $20,000 put expiring on Dec. 31.
Market makers are always on the opposite side of traders/investors and run a direction-neutral portfolio. That essentially means buyers of the $20,000 and $22,000 puts expiring on Dec. 31 were investors, most likely adding downside hedges against long positions in the spot/futures market. A put option gives the purchaser the right but not the obligation to buy the underlying asset at a predetermined price on or before a specific date. A put buyer is implicitly bearish on the underlying asset, in this case, bitcoin.
Top Cryptocurrencies with Price Predictions
| # | Crypto | Prediction | Accuracy | CVIX | Price | 24h | 7d | Market Cap | 7d price change | |
| 1 |  BTC |
Bitcoin predictions | 87.2% | 21 | $20 343.76 | 0.74% | 4.35% | $390 002 144 811 |  |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 |  ETH |
Ethereum predictions | 65.6% | 78 | $1 371.86 | 1.23% | 2.24% | $168 287 742 378 |  |
|
| 3 |  USDT |
Tether predictions | 94% | 1 | $1.000141 | -0.01% | 0.01% | $68 222 178 413 |  |
|
| 4 |  BNB |
Binance Coin predictions | 82.8% | 21 | $296.37 | 0.50% | 4.40% | $47 815 124 698 |  |
|
| 5 |  USDC |
USD Coin predictions | 92.8% | 1 | $0.999980 | 0.01% | -0.02% | $46 433 199 437 |  |
|
| 6 |  XRP |
XRP predictions | 61.6% | 85 | $0.496669 | 4.51% | 12.60% | $24 763 202 282 |  |
|
| 7 |  BUSD |
Binance USD predictions | 91.2% | 1 | $1.000043 | 0.05% | 0.03% | $21 043 130 520 |  |
|
| 8 |  ADA |
Cardano predictions | 74.8% | 42 | $0.434909 | 0.55% | -0.40% | $14 899 368 238 |  |
|
| 9 |  SOL |
Solana predictions | 86.8% | 21 | $34.30 | 0.54% | 1.72% | $12 185 648 954 |  |
|
| 10 |  STETH |
Lido stETH predictions | 94.8% | 1 | $2 941.39 | -0.40% | -3.32% | $10 258 752 564 |  |
|
| 11 |  DOGE |
Dogecoin predictions | 83.2% | 21 | $0.066218 | 1.79% | 8.97% | $8 785 142 892 |  |
|
| 12 |  MATIC |
Polygon predictions | 72% | 56 | $0.846366 | 0.82% | 12.86% | $7 392 430 810 |  |
|
| 13 |  DOT |
Polkadot predictions | 73.2% | 59 | $6.48 | 1.22% | 0.75% | $7 283 638 838 |  |
|
| 14 |  DAI |
Dai predictions | 94.4% | 1 | $0.999775 | 0.01% | 0.02% | $6 788 649 987 |  |
|
| 15 |  WTRX |
Wrapped TRON predictions | 93.6% | 5 | $0.062676 | 0.57% | 4.44% | $6 372 618 183 |  |
