Bitcoin’s $300K Call Option: The High-Stakes Gambit Dominating Trader Portfolios

Wall Street’s casino mentality finds a new home in crypto derivatives—this time, with traders piling into absurdly bullish BTC call options.

Why $300K? Because why not. In a market where ’number go up’ is the only theology, these contracts are the ultimate lottery tickets—cheap, explosive, and statistically doomed. The first half of 2025 saw more open interest in these contracts than common sense at a Fed meeting.

Behind the frenzy: A mix of institutional hedging, degenerate speculation, and that uniquely crypto blend of hopium and amnesia. Never mind that Bitcoin would need a $6T market cap to hit the strike price—this is about narrative momentum, not math.

The punchline? Most will expire worthless. But for the few whales stacking these as upside insurance, it’s a small price to pay for moon-shot bragging rights. Just don’t ask about the gamma exposure.

The chart shows that the June 26 expiry is the largest among all settlements due this year, and the $300K call has the second-highest open interest buildup in the June expiry options.

Explaining the chunky notional open interest in the $300K call, GSR’s Trader Simranjeet Singh said, "I suspect this is mostly an accumulation of relatively cheap wings betting on broader U.S. reg narrative being pro-crypto and the ’wingy possibility’ (no pun intended) of a BTC strategic reserve that was punted around at the start of the administration."

On Friday, Senator Cynthia Lummis said in a speech that she’s "particularly pleased with President Trump’s support of her BITCOIN Act.

"The BITCOIN Act is the only solution to our nation’s $36T debt. I’m grateful for a forward-thinking president who not only recognizes this, but acts on it," Lummis said on X.

Who sold $300K calls?

According to Amberdata’s Director of Derivatives, notable selling in the $300K call expiring on June 26 occurred in April as part of the covered call strategy, which traders use to generate additional yield on top of their spot market holdings.

"My thought is that the selling volume on April 23 came from traders generating income against a long position," Magadini told CoinDesk. "Each option sold for about $60 at 100% implied volatility."

Selling higher strike OTM call options and collecting premium while holding a long position in the spot market is a popular yield-generating strategy in both crypto and traditional markets.