Bitcoin options surge to all-time high as price briefly tops $44,000

• On 6 December, Bitcoin traded momentarily above $44,000.
• The coin’s options open interest has clinched an all-time high.

Bitcoin’s [BTC] price briefly surpassed the $44,000 mark during the intraday trading session on the 6th of December, reaching its highest level since April 2022. 

This upswing coincided with a record-breaking increase in options open interest, hitting an all-time high of $20 billion, according to data from CoinGlass.

Source: Coinglass

BTC options open interest has risen steadily since the year began. Year-to-date, it has increased by over 6,500%. For context, as of 1st January, options open interest was $3 billion. 

A spike in an asset’s options open interest suggests heightened investor activity by traders who prefer to hedge their holdings or speculate on future price movements. 

This increased confidence in BTC’s current trajectory was further fueled by the liquidation of nearly $100 million in BTC shorts across centralized exchanges on 6th December. 

This “short squeeze” occurs when traders who bet against BTC’s price rally are forced to buy back the asset, further driving up the price.

According to The Block’s data dashboard, the month so far has seen an uptick in short liquidations on centralized exchanges as BTC’s price continues to chase record new highs. 

Source: The Block

Miners book gains as BTC makes history 

As BTC trades at an 18-month high, miners on the network have increasingly sold their coin holdings to realize profits, AMBCrypto found.

An on-chain assessment of miner activity revealed a decline in Miner Reserve since 1st December.

BTC’s Miner Reserve measures the amount of coins held in miners’ wallets. It tracks coin exits from miners’ wallets. When the metric declines, it indicates that miners have begun to sell their holdings.

According to data from CryptoQuant, BTC’s Miner Reserve has decreased by 25% in the last week. At press time, miners across the BTC network held 1.83 million coins. 

Source: CryptoQuant

Confirming steady coin exits from miners’ wallets, BTC’s Miner Netflow metric has been primarily negative since December began. When this is the case, it means that the miner reserve is experiencing a decline due to profit-taking activity. 

Read Bitcoin’s [BTC] Price Prediction 2023-24

Daily traders keep filling their bags

Key momentum indicators observed on a daily chart showed that BTC accumulation amongst spot traders continues non-stop. At press time, the coin’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Money Flow Index (MFI) were 74.86 and 86.48, respectively.  

At these values, buying pressure significantly outpaced coin distribution. 

Source: TradingView