Analysis: After the Binance hack, traders bought Bitcoin put options, with strike prices concentrated between $74,000 and $78,000.

Following the Binance hack that broke on October 30, large traders swiftly increased their holdings of Bitcoin put options to hedge exposure. According to Nicolas Quatravaux, Head of EMEA at Paradigm, within eight hours of the incident, the notional value of BTC options block trades executed on its platform totaled approximately $590 million—roughly 50% of Deribit’s equivalent block trade volume over the same period—and the trade structure was heavily skewed toward puts. The first large trade occurred at 20:38 UTC—before the news was officially disclosed—and involved buying a put option with a strike price of $78,000, expiring on October 31, covering 250 BTC, for a notional value of roughly $20 million. Just three minutes later, another identical trade—same underlying, same expiry and strike—was executed at a ~35% higher purchase cost. Buy-side activity was highly concentrated in the $74,000–$78,000 strike range, with maturities primarily clustered in the current week and mid-November. Notably, two mid-November-expiry put options—both with a $74,000 strike—each covered 1,000 BTC, totaling a combined notional value of ~$155 million. Analysts note this positioning reflects hedging against further near-term downside rather than a bet on an extreme crash scenario. Interestingly, concurrent trading in March-expiry Bitcoin call options suggests some participants have not fully shifted into defensive mode. Standard Chartered warns that market weakness may persist, and a new price bottom may be delayed—pending full disclosure of incident details and the lifting of token freezes by the affected exchange and protocols.