Bitcoin’s derivatives market is signaling expectations for range-bound price action rather than a dramatic breakout or sharp sell-off.

Options flow on Deribit suggests traders are positioning for stability within a wide band, with strong support emerging near $85,000 and resistance forming around the $95,000–$100,000 zone. Data tracked by market maker Wintermute shows heavy put selling at lower strikes, indicating confidence that prices will hold above key downside levels.

Traders have been actively writing $85,000 puts, effectively offering insurance against a drop below that threshold. This activity often creates a price floor, as sellers of these contracts may hedge by buying bitcoin in spot or futures markets if prices approach the strike. The $85,000 put is currently the second most active option across all expiries, carrying more than $2 billion in notional open interest. On Deribit, each options contract represents one BTC.

At the upper end, call selling is concentrated between $95,000 and $100,000, where bitcoin holders are overwriting their spot positions to earn premium income. By selling these calls, traders cap their upside while committing to deliver bitcoin if prices surge beyond those levels. As a result, this activity can introduce selling pressure as BTC nears $100,000, making a clean breakout more challenging.

The $100,000 call is the most popular contract at present, with notional open interest of approximately $2.37 billion, underscoring limited appetite for a rapid move into six-figure territory.

“Strong put-selling support around 85k (then 80k/75k as secondary buffers), while call overwrites cap upside around 95k–100k. Vol is being harvested inside this band,” Wintermute desk strategist Jasper De Maere said in an email.

This combination of put and call selling reflects a volatility-harvesting strategy, in which traders collect premiums by betting that price swings will remain muted. If bitcoin continues to trade sideways, these options will gradually lose value and expire worthless, allowing sellers to retain the full premium.

At press time, bitcoin was trading near $87,400, according to CoinDesk data.