Bullish sentiment is growing for bitcoin (BTC) as CME options and ETF inflows suggest new highs could be on the horizon.
Bitcoin options trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) saw the strongest bullish sentiment since Donald Trump’s November 5 election victory. Traders aggressively bought call options, which offer significant upside exposure, causing the skew to rise to 4.4%. This is the highest level since early November, according to data from CF Benchmarks.
Skew measures the difference in implied volatility between calls (upside bets) and puts (downside protection). A positive skew indicates strong bullish sentiment. “Thirty-day topside skew in bitcoin options has reached levels not seen since the election, reflecting a strong bullish outlook,” said Thomas Erdösi, head of product at CF Benchmarks.
Bitcoin briefly surged by 5% to over $106,000 on Tuesday, maintaining support at the $100,000 level despite President Trump’s inaugural speech lacking mention of crypto or a strategic bitcoin reserve. This surge was accompanied by significant inflows into U.S.-listed spot ETFs, with $802 million of net inflows recorded. BlackRock’s IBIT fund led the way, drawing $661.8 million, bolstering the optimistic sentiment.
“Bitcoin and Ethereum are drawing impressive institutional interest, and continued strong ETF inflows could drive digital assets to new highs,” said Valentin Fournier, an analyst at BRN.
Additionally, long-term holders—wallets that have held bitcoin for over 155 days—are reducing their profit-taking activities, according to Glassnode.
While volatility may moderate towards the end of the month, the bullish outlook seems poised to persist. Erdösi added, “The topside skew is likely to remain, providing upward price pressure in the near term, unless unexpected policy shifts occur.”
