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 | 66.8% | 74 | $60 252.30 | -1.62% | -1.26% | $1 135 935 887 079 |  |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 |  ETH |
Ethereum predictions | 71.2% | 59 | $4 018.12 | -2.21% | 5.61% | $474 376 781 470 |  |
|
| 3 |  BNB |
Binance Coin predictions | 68.8% | 62 | $473.38 | -1.64% | 1.64% | $78 960 770 465 |  |
|
| 4 |  ADA |
Cardano predictions | 89.2% | 13 | $2.12 | -1.64% | -1.97% | $69 627 800 399 |  |
|
| 5 |  USDT |
Tether predictions | 92% | 1 | $1.000291 | -0.03% | 0.04% | $69 594 352 711 |  |
|
| 6 |  SOL |
Solana predictions | 70.8% | 56 | $189.40 | -3.30% | 18.36% | $57 001 510 155 |  |
|
| 7 |  XRP |
XRP predictions | 76.8% | 49 | $1.078786 | -0.88% | -3.63% | $50 645 066 240 |  |
|
| 8 |  DOT |
Polkadot predictions | 59.2% | 82 | $42.08 | -3.54% | 1.93% | $41 561 903 600 |  |
|
| 9 |  DOGE |
Dogecoin predictions | 69.6% | 60 | $0.256259 | 2.18% | 8.35% | $33 782 163 270 |  |
|
| 10 |  USDC |
USD Coin predictions | 92.4% | 1 | $1.000258 | -0.06% | 0.04% | $32 574 092 120 |  |
|
| 11 |  LUNA |
Terra predictions | 67.6% | 61 | $40.61 | -4.86% | 10.46% | $16 301 378 596 |  |
|
| 12 |  UNI |
UniSwap predictions | 77.6% | 42 | $25.72 | -3.26% | -2.22% | $15 732 380 214 |  |
|
| 13 |  SHIB |
SHIBA INU predictions | 58.8% | 92 | $0.000038 | 13.53% | 50.59% | $15 098 126 510 |  |
|
| 14 |  AVAX |
Avalanche predictions | 71.2% | 61 | $63.71 | -2.12% | 12.40% | $14 033 729 136 |  |
|
| 15 |  LINK |
Chainlink predictions | 72.4% | 50 | $29.63 | -3.22% | 10.93% | $13 659 959 203 |  |
