Bitcoin Rises. Traders Are Betting on a 5% Crypto Christmas Rally.

Evidence in the Bitcoin options market suggests bullish sentiment with preparations for a price pop specifically by Christmas. (Dreamstime)

Key Points

• Bitcoin’s price increased by 1% to $89,750, remaining below the $90,000 level it has not consistently held since early December.
• Investtech’s analysis indicates Bitcoin has support at $86,000 and resistance at $93,400, with a technically slightly negative short-term outlook.
• Bitcoin options traders show bullish sentiment, with a concentration of calls at a $94,000 strike price expiring by Thursday.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies drifted higher to start the week, but the largest digital asset remained below the $90,000 milestone—even as traders bet on a rally coming this week.

The price of Bitcoin rose 1% over the past 24 hours to $89,750, remaining below the key $90,00 level, a mark the largest crypto by market value has not consistently held since early December. The outlook for Bitcoin remains muted by multiple measures.

Created with Highcharts 9.0.1Bitcoin priceSource: CoinDeskNote: XBX indexAs of Dec. 22

Created with Highcharts 9.0.12025Dec.70,00080,00090,000100,000110,000120,000$130,000

“Bitcoin…indicates a slower falling rate initially, or the start of a more horizontal development. The currency has support at points $86,000 and resistance at points $93,400. The currency is assessed as technically slightly negative for the short term,” wrote investing platform Investtech based on an analysis of technical market indicators for Bitcoin.

Traders, however, see a price gift under the Christmas tree.

Evidence in the Bitcoin options market—where traders bet on specific future price moves —suggests bullish sentiment with preparations for a price pop specifically by Christmas.

There is a concentration of “calls”—contracts that pay out if prices rise to a specific level or “strike price” by a certain expiry date—for Bitcoin at $94,000 by Thursday, based on open interest levels on the exchange Deribit.

The $94,000 level is the most popular strike price by open interest of any option expiring on Thursday, with overall more calls than puts, which are bearish bets on a lower strike price, in the Deribit options market.

Beyond Bitcoin, Ethereum —the second-largest crypto—gained 1.5% to above $3,000, while XRP also edged up, rising 0.6%. Smaller tokens, or altcoins, were more mixed, with Ripple down less than 1%, and Solana and Dogecoin each gaining less than 1%.

Write to Jack Denton at jack.denton@barrons.com