Bitcoin options traders are pulling back their bullish bets as the market braces for a wave of tech IPOs and heightened interest in AI-related tokens, according to a new analysis from NYDIG researchers. The June 10 settlement is tomorrow, and the data points to a cautious mood — not panic, but a clear reduction in upside positioning.
What NYDIG found in the options data
The firm's research team noted that upside bets on bitcoin have been tightening steadily over the past week. That's a shift from the more aggressive calls seen earlier this month. The timing is no coincidence: the settlement date concentrates open interest, and traders are either rolling positions or closing out before expiry. NYDIG didn't specify exact figures, but the direction is unmistakable. The market is pricing in less confidence in a near-term breakout.
Three forces squeezing bitcoin
NYDIG's note flags three overlapping pressures. First, the AI narrative is sucking up liquidity and attention. New token projects tied to machine learning and data processing are drawing speculative capital that might otherwise flow into bitcoin. Second, a slate of high-profile tech IPOs is landing this month — companies in cloud infrastructure and semiconductor design. Their debut is pulling institutional money that often treats bitcoin as a high-beta tech bet. Third, persistent security concerns — a string of exchange hacks and wallet vulnerabilities — are keeping some traders on the sidelines. None of these are new, but their convergence this week is making the options market especially skittish.
What the settlement could trigger
The June 10 expiry is a hard deadline. If bitcoin doesn't regain upward momentum before it, the shift in open interest could accelerate. NYDIG's researchers didn't make a directional call, but the implication is clear: the next 24 hours will tell us whether the current caution is a temporary pause or the start of a wider repositioning. The tech IPOs won't be done pricing until late June, and the AI token rally shows no signs of cooling. That leaves bitcoin fighting for bandwidth in a crowded attention economy.
