Overview
- Roughly $24–$28 billion of Bitcoin options expired on Friday in a record quarterly and annual event, involving hundreds of thousands of contracts and concentrated strikes around $85,000 to $100,000.
- Bitcoin briefly jumped to about $89,100 on short covering before settling in the high‑$88,000s, with analysts noting a modest volatility uptick as the expiry removed a gamma structure that had capped movement.
- Recent net outflows from US spot Bitcoin ETFs, totaling hundreds of millions of dollars in December, have weakened a key source of demand and left price more sensitive to derivatives dynamics.
- Market watchers flag $85,000 as near‑term support and say reclaiming roughly $90,500 to $94,000 would be needed to confirm a sustained bullish turn, with some expecting a 5%–10% move once liquidity returns.
- Executives such as Strategy CEO Phong Le argue long‑term fundamentals strengthened in 2025 despite the pullback, with Strategy holding about 671,000 BTC and reporting deeper engagement from banks and policymakers.