Bitcoin Options Traders Load up on $120K Call Strike Through December 2026

According to Cryptoquant data, CME bitcoin options open interest dropped from $290 million in November to $30–40 million by mid-June, with Deribit showing concentrated call positioning at $120,000 strikes. The most active contract on Deribit is the Dec. 25, 2026 $120,000 call, holding 7,526.9 BTC in open interest, followed by the July 31, 2026 $80,000 call at 7,118.9 BTC.

Deribit's max pain for September and December 2026 contract expirations stands at $75,000, per Coinglass data. Binance leads bitcoin futures open interest at 131.97K BTC ($8.42 billion), capturing 18.22% of the market, with CME ranking second at 106.03K BTC. Total bitcoin options open interest across all exchanges has declined to roughly $35 billion from a peak above $65 billion in October, tracking Bitcoin's retreat from six-figure prices.