Bitcoin Traders started 2026 on a positive note, snapping up option bets with the goal of pushing prices into six figures.
Investor interest in $100,000 strike January call options listed on Deribit, the world’s largest cryptocurrency options exchange by trading volume and open interest, has increased significantly since at least Friday.
A call option gives the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to purchase the underlying asset at a predetermined price at a later date. The $100,000 call option represents a bet that the price of Bitcoin will rise above that level on or before the expiration of the contract.
“Traffic remains predominantly rolling, with a significant uptick in follow-through interest at 100k on January 30,” said Jasper De Maere, desk strategist at Wintermute.
According to data source Amberdata, the number of active, or open, contracts on this particular option has increased by 420 BTC in the past 24 hours alone. This represents a $38.8 million increase in notional open interest, the largest increase among all Deribit’s January calls and all platform expirations, with one option contract representing 1 BTC.
Notional open interest in the option recently totaled $1.45 billion, with $828 million expiring in January alone, according to data source Deribit Metrics.
This upside positioning is consistent with the bullish sentiment that dominated much of 2025, when traders chased call options at prices between $100,000 and $140,000.
QCP Capital said that if BTC prices rise above $94,000, demand for these call options may surge further. The cryptocurrency has gained about 5% in the first five days of the year, briefly topping $93,000 early Monday.
“postal-[December] Expiration positioning has changed. BTC perpetual funding on Deribit has jumped above 30%, indicating traders are now shorting gamma gains. This dynamic was evident as spot prices moved above $90,000, triggering hedge inflows into perpetual contracts and near-term call options,” QCP Capital said last week.
“A sustained break above 94k may amplify this effect,” the company added.