$640 million in Bitcoin options expire on May 20 and noshitcoins says bears are intent on pinning the price below $29,000 to extract max profit from the expiry.
) daily closing price fluctuated in a tight range between $28,700 and $31,300. The May 12 collapse of TerraUSD , previously the third-largest stablecoin by market cap, negatively impacted investor confidence and the path for Bitcoin' price recovery seems clouded after the Nasdaq Composite Stock Market Index plunged 4.7% on May 18.up recession fears and on May 18, Target shares dropped 25%, while Walmart stock plunged 17% in two days.
If Bitcoin's price remains above $29,000 at 8:00 am UTC on May 20, only $160 million worth of these put options will be available. This difference happens because a right to sell Bitcoin at $30,000 is worthless if BTC trades above that level on expiry.Below are the three most likely scenarios based on the current price action. The number of options contracts available on May 20 for call and put instruments varies, depending on the expiry price.
For example, a trader could have sold a put option, effectively gaining positive exposure to Bitcoin above a specific price, but unfortunately, there's no easy way to estimate this effect.Bitcoin bears need to pressure the price below $29,000 on May 20 to secure a $190 million profit. On the other hand, the bulls' best case scenario requires a push above $30,000 to minimize the damage.
Considering Bitcoin bulls had $457 million in leveraged long positions liquidated between May 15 and 18, they should have less margin required to drive the price higher. Thus, bears will try to suppress BTC below $29,000 ahead of the May 20 options expiry and this decreases the odds of a short-term price recovery.