📊 Bitcoin options into the Fed: movement, not direction
Bitcoin is trading near $81,000 ahead of today’s Federal Reserve decision. The focus is not just on rates, but on Chair Kevin Warsh’s message about what comes next. One important detail: there is no new Fed dot plot in October.
⚡ Options are pricing uncertainty
Deribit’s Bitcoin 30-day implied volatility is around 37–38%. That tells us how much movement the options market is pricing — not whether bitcoin will rise or fall.
⚖️ What does the skew say?
The picture is mixed. Very short-dated options around the Fed and 30 October expiry are roughly balanced to slightly call-rich, while later November and December maturities still show puts trading at an implied-volatility premium to calls.
Meanwhile, Deribit open interest remains call-heavy overall: roughly $20.1bn in calls versus $12.0bn in puts, or a put/call ratio near 0.60. Positioning and hedging, yes. A clean directional forecast, no.
💥 A huge expiry follows the Fed
Around $10.9bn of bitcoin options expire on Deribit on 30 October. Combined with today’s Fed decision, that makes the next 48 hours particularly interesting for volatility traders.
🏛️ Crypto regulation keeps moving
The US OCC published final rules implementing key GENIUS Act provisions for payment stablecoins. 🇬🇧 The UK FCA opened new consultations covering the crypto regulatory perimeter and DeFi. 🇫🇷 French authorities proposed tougher treatment of non-MiCA-compliant stablecoins while backing euro stablecoins, tokenised bank deposits and a regulated path for DeFi.
🏦 Stablecoins go mainstream
HSBC launched its HKD-backed RedCoin on 23 October, making the regulated bank-issued stablecoin available through PayMe to a potential audience of more than 3.3 million users. 🇭🇰
⛏️ Fun fact of the week
Two solo bitcoin miners found blocks on consecutive days this week. 🎰 One reportedly had just 16.2 TH/s of computing power — giving it an estimated daily chance of success of around 0.0002%. Sometimes the blockchain really does produce lottery-style odds.
👀 What to watch
Today’s Fed message matters more than the widely expected rate decision itself. The options market is preparing for movement — but it isn’t giving traders a reliable answer about direction.
#NordFX #Bitcoin #Crypto #BTC #Fed #CryptoNews #Trading
🪙 NordFX Crypto News of the Week | 21–28 October was originally published in Coinmonks on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.