Bitcoin Bulls Get a Gut Check as Sub-$75,000 Bets Overtake $100K Calls

Bitcoin’s love affair with gravity is back on full display, and this time the market’s not even pretending to be surprised. After months of relentless optimism, the world’s most-watched digital asset is now trading at $78,199, with the mood in derivatives shifting from moonshot calls to a mad scramble for downside protection. The $75,000–$80,000 zone, once a launchpad for bullish dreams, is now a battlefield littered with broken support levels and battered egos.

The facts are ugly. Bitcoin has slipped below $80,000, and the options market is screaming for lower strikes. According to Coindesk, demand for puts below $75,000 is now as hot as the $100,000 calls that dominated the post-2024 Trump election frenzy. The narrative has flipped: instant gratification is out, survival is in. NewsBTC reports that Ethereum has also cracked, slipping under $2,500. The entire crypto complex is under pressure, with traders dialing back leverage and treasury companies sitting on millions in unrealized losses. The days of easy gains are over, at least for now.

This isn’t just a price correction. It’s a sentiment reset. The last time Bitcoin looked this shaky, it was 2022, and the market was still telling itself fairy tales about institutional adoption and digital gold. Now, with realized price flipping to resistance and historical bear market patterns repeating, the crowd is getting nervous. Cointelegraph notes that price forecasts are tapping sub-$50,000 levels, and even the perma-bulls are hedging their bets. The cycle bottom? Analyst PlanC says the $75,000–$80,000 zone could be the last big dip, but nobody’s calling a bottom with conviction.

The context here is brutal. Bitcoin treasuries are deep in the red, but the strategy hasn’t changed: buy, hold, pray. The market is copying old bear markets, with realized price acting as a brick wall. The options market is the canary in the coal mine. When puts get expensive and leverage gets pulled, you know the pain trade is lower. The broader macro backdrop isn’t helping. Liquidity is tightening, risk assets are getting smoked, and the Fed isn’t coming to the rescue. This is what a real correction feels like—no hopium, no bailouts, just price discovery in its rawest form.

The analysis is simple: Bitcoin is in a transition phase. The easy money has been made, and now the market is hunting for weak hands. The shift from high-strike calls to low-strike puts is a tell. The crowd is bracing for more downside, and the algos are happy to oblige. The only thing that could change the narrative is a surprise catalyst—a dovish Fed, a new ETF, or a macro shock that sends capital running back to digital assets. Until then, expect more chop, more pain, and more forced liquidations.

Strykr Watch

Technically, Bitcoin is hanging on to the $78,000 handle, but the real battle is at $75,000. Lose that, and the next stop is $70,000, with little support until $65,000. Resistance is now $80,000, with sellers lined up above. The 200-day moving average is catching up, but momentum is negative. RSI is oversold but not extreme, suggesting more downside is possible. Watch the options market for clues—if put skew keeps rising, brace for another leg down. Ethereum is also on the ropes, with $2,500 now resistance and $2,200 the next support. The whole crypto complex is in risk-off mode, and the pain trade is lower until proven otherwise.

The risks are obvious. If Bitcoin loses $75,000, the cascade could accelerate, triggering margin calls and forced selling. If the macro backdrop worsens—think another liquidity squeeze or a Fed hawkish surprise—crypto could see a full-blown capitulation. The upside is capped unless the market gets a new narrative. For now, survival is the name of the game.

Opportunities exist for the brave. Shorting failed bounces with tight stops is the play until $75,000 is reclaimed. For long-term bulls, scaling in below $70,000 with wide stops makes sense, but don’t expect a V-shaped recovery. The market is in price discovery mode, and patience will be rewarded. If you’re trading options, look for put spreads or volatility structures that profit from further downside. This is not the time to get cute. Protect capital, trade the trend, and wait for the dust to settle.

Strykr Take

Bitcoin’s correction isn’t over, and the crowd is finally waking up to the risk. Stay defensive, trade the range, and don’t try to catch the falling knife. The real bottom will be obvious only in hindsight.