Bitcoin Options Show Traders Betting on $100,000 by Year-End

Bitcoin options traders buoyed by Donald Trump’s election victory are already eyeing a landmark price of $100,000 for the original cryptocurrency, after it surged to a fresh record on hopes for a more crypto-friendly administration.

Investors are lining up bets that Bitcoin will pass the milestone as soon as the end of the year, according to data from crypto options exchange Deribit. The token topped $82,000 for the first time on Monday.

Digital-asset investors are in a giddy mood after Trump’s triumph in the US election race. Once a crypto-skeptic, Trump staged a about-face on the sector this year, courting voters and donations with pledges to establish a Bitcoin stockpile and fire US Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, who had led a crackdown on the industry.

“We’re witnessing some significant movements in the wake of the US election,” said Nick Forster, founder of Derive, a decentralized finance protocol for options trading. Traders are placing large bets with a $100,000 call option expiring on Dec. 27, “a trade that has already seen a 30% increase in value, making it one of the largest notional trades and most profitable in recent weeks,” Forster added.

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