Over $2.8 billion are betting on Bitcoin breaking $90,000, reaching an all-time high

Bitcoin hit a new all-time high of nearly $81,000 and futures premiums soared, a clear sign that investors expect the world’s largest cryptocurrency’s record rise to continue due to the US election, which saw a rise in the Pro-crypto advocates came, even further gains will bring candidates winning the office.

Open interest in a Bitcoin price above $90,000 rose to over $2.8 billion on popular derivatives exchange Deribit, one of the few native crypto platforms to offer futures trading. Deribit covers the majority of the offshore options market.

“The options market is strongly positioned for continued momentum. Call options are trading at a premium to puts, and open interest in out-of-the-money calls has increased,” Vetle Lunde, head of research at K33 Research, told CNBC.

A call option gives the buyer the right to purchase shares of an underlying asset at a specific price for a specific period of time. Buying a call option is a bet that the asset price will rise. Buying a put option is a bet that the asset price will fall.

The CME derivatives exchange offers Bitcoin futures contracts and is a popular way for institutions in the US to place bets on the future price of Bitcoin. Velde told CNBC that on Friday CME awards for ether and Bitcoin averaged 14.5% and 14%, respectively. According to Velde, these premiums were at 7% in the run-up to the elections and have been just under 10% for most of the past six months.

“The recent increase is a significant deviation to the upside and underlines recent bullish inflows,” he added, noting that yields more or less stabilized at double digits after the choice became clear.

“In addition to the increase in leverage, we saw the first meaningful example of rising yields in offshore derivatives, suggesting that this move is being led by determined risk-takers preparing for further upside potential,” Velde said.

The early beginnings of Bitcoin’s rise coincided with a significant increase in open interest in perpetual swaps, or contracts that allow buyers to speculate on where they believe prices will go without a set expiration date.

However, liquidity in crypto markets is typically lower on weekends than on weekdays because neither CME futures nor ETFs are open for trading, so moves tend to overreact and decline significantly once these markets reopen, according to Velde.

President-elect Donald Trump promised during his campaign to make the United States the “crypto capital of the planet.” Among his many commitments to the crypto community was launching a nationwide crypto stockpile using the more than $16 billion in Bitcoin the U.S. government has amassed through asset seizures, as well as lowering interest rates. Monetary policy easing is typically accompanied by a rise in crypto prices as it makes it cheaper to borrow money.

The Federal Reserve, which determines the country’s monetary policy, sets the key interest rate. It is also designed to operate independently of the White House. On Thursday, the Fed approved its second straight rate cut.

Due to the election results and the Fed’s unanimous vote to cut interest rates again, the crypto market saw a general upswing through the weekend. ether outperformed Bitcoin’s rise, up 30% in the last seven days, and Solanas The market capitalization exceeded $100 billion on Sunday.

The total market cap of all spot Bitcoin ETFs is now over $80 billion, and in the last three trading days alone, the spot funds have added a combined $2.3 billion.

In the fintech space, cryptocurrency-related companies were among the frontrunners after candidates funded by the cryptocurrency industry won most votes.

Coinbase shares rose 48% this week, their strongest since January 2023. Coinbase was one of the biggest corporate donors in the election cycle, donating more than $75 million to Fairshake and its affiliated PACs, including a new pledge of $25 million US dollars to support the pro-crypto super PAC in the 2026 midterm elections.

Trump has vowed to oust SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, potentially boding well for companies like Coinbase that are battling the regulator in court over alleged securities crimes.

“Tuesday night was certainly a big night for crypto and the crypto voter,” Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s chief legal officer, said in an interview. “We are going to have the most crypto-friendly Congress ever, and Coinbase has played some role in that.”

Robinhood, which allows users to buy and sell a range of digital currencies, rose 27% this week. The online broker received a Wells notice from the SEC in May, a step that often precedes formal charges.

The general manager of Robinhood’s crypto division told CNBC that Robinhood’s goal is to be able to operate within administration.

“When you think about crypto, it’s a very fast pace. It’s complicated, it’s made by engineers for engineers,” said Johann Kerbrat, vice president and general manager of Robinhood Crypto. “We want to help policymakers understand this and ensure the right protection for customers.”