A breakout in Bitcoin—largely driven by the unwinding of bearish derivatives trades—has lifted the wider crypto market, sending the CoinDesk 20 Index up დაახლოებით 5%.
Bitcoin pushed above $75,000 early Tuesday, hitting a peak near $75,800 and firmly breaking through a long-standing resistance range between $73,750 and $74,400. That level had capped rallies several times since 2024, making the latest move a meaningful technical shift.
The rally appears to be fueled by traders closing short positions established during February’s downturn. Markus Thielen said substantial put selling around the $55,000 and $60,000 strike levels played a key role. With expiration nearing and prices well above those levels, traders increasingly saw those options as unlikely to end in the money, triggering a wave of hedge unwinds.
Put options—contracts that give traders the right to sell BTC at a predetermined price—are typically used as protection against downside risk. During the February sell-off, traders built up these positions aggressively as bitcoin briefly approached $60,000. As sentiment improved, those hedges became less necessary, leading to a reversal in positioning.
Unwinding these bearish bets has also reinforced the upward move. As Markus Thielen explained, closing downside hedges reduces selling pressure and forces market makers to buy bitcoin to rebalance exposure, creating supportive flows that can extend gains.
Analysts had previously highlighted the $75,000 level as a potential trigger for further upside due to such hedging dynamics. However, there has been limited evidence of strong call option demand so far, suggesting the rally is being driven more by short covering than by new bullish positioning.
Bitcoin’s advance has spilled over into the broader market. Ethereum has risen nearly 8% to around $2,360, supported by growing interest in bullish options strategies. XRP and Solana have gained roughly 8% and 4%, respectively.
Other standout performers include Zcash, Pepe, Polkadot and Virtuals Protocol, all of which have posted notable gains in the latest market rally.
