Bitcoin Whales’ Covered Call Selling Is Crushing Spot Prices, Analyst Warns

Bitcoin’s price is languishing near $90,000, and while institutional demand through spot ETFs screams bullish, a cunning play by long-term holders—so-called Bitcoin whales or OGs—is stifling any breakout. Market analyst Jeff Park has zeroed in on covered call selling by Bitcoin whales, a derivatives strategy these heavyweights are using to pocket premiums, but it’s dumping relentless sell-side pressure on the spot market, overshadowing even the strongest demand signals.

• Price Gridlock: Bitcoin can’t break past $90,000 despite robust ETF inflows.
• Whale Tactics: Covered call selling by OGs forces market makers to sell spot Bitcoin, capping rallies.
• Derivatives Overpower: Options market dynamics are drowning out positive spot demand.

Breaking Down Covered Call Selling: How Whales Play the Game

Let’s cut through the noise and explain what’s happening. Covered call selling is a financial maneuver where Bitcoin holders—often those who’ve been stacking sats for over a decade—sell call options against their holdings. A call option is essentially a contract that gives the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy Bitcoin at a specific price (called the strike price) by a set date. Think of it as a coupon: if Bitcoin’s price skyrockets past the strike price, the buyer can cash in big; if it doesn’t, the coupon’s worthless. For the seller, it’s low-risk profit—they collect a premium upfront, earning income without selling their Bitcoin.

Here’s a quick example: imagine a whale sells a call option with a $95,000 strike price for a $2,000 premium. If Bitcoin stays below $95,000 by expiration, they keep the premium as pure profit, and their Bitcoin remains untouched. If the price surges past $95,000, they might miss out on bigger gains, but their holdings “cover” the obligation to sell. It’s a neat way to monetize a dormant stack—except there’s a nasty side effect. The market makers, who take the other side of these trades by buying the call options, don’t sit on that risk. To protect themselves, they hedge—basically, they buy insurance against price swings by selling Bitcoin in the spot market. This hedging creates a constant downward force on Bitcoin’s price. As Jeff Park sharply notes:

“When you sell calls against Bitcoin you’ve held for more than a decade, the only fresh market exposure comes from the call selling itself. That exposure is negative, making the seller a net source of downward pressure.”

For clarity, market makers are the big players ensuring markets run smoothly by providing liquidity—think of them as the middlemen facilitating trades. Their hedging isn’t personal; it’s just math. They aim to stay “delta-neutral,” meaning they balance their exposure so price swings don’t wipe them out. But the outcome stinks for the rest of us: every call option sold by a whale translates to spot Bitcoin being dumped, keeping the price pinned no matter how much raw demand pours in.

Spot Demand vs. Derivative Distortion: A Frustrating Tug-of-War

Bitcoin’s spot market should, in theory, be soaring. Spot ETFs—exchange-traded funds that track Bitcoin’s real-time price—are seeing massive inflows, a clear signal that institutional money is piling in. These ETFs are a gateway for traditional investors to gain exposure without touching a wallet, and their surging popularity should be rocket fuel for Bitcoin’s price. Yet, here we are, stuck near $90,000. The culprit? Derivatives-driven distortion. The options market, once a sideshow, has grown into a heavyweight, dictating short-term price action more than organic buying ever could.

Adding to the weirdness, Bitcoin’s behavior is diverging from old playbooks. In late 2025, we’re seeing a partial decoupling from US equities. While indices like the S&P 500 are carving out record highs, Bitcoin has retreated from earlier peaks. This split suggests internal crypto market dynamics—whale strategies and options trading—are outweighing broader economic trends. It’s a bitter pill for those who banked on stock market momentum dragging Bitcoin along for the ride, and a stark reminder that crypto is maturing into its own beast, for better or worse.

Macro Lifelines: Could Fed Rate Cuts Save the Day?

While derivatives cast a dark shadow, external economic factors might still tip the scales. The US Federal Reserve is back in the spotlight, with whispers of another interest rate cut on the horizon. According to CME Group’s FedWatch tool, roughly a quarter of traders expect a cut at the January FOMC meeting. Why does this matter? Lower rates typically flood financial markets with liquidity, making risk assets like Bitcoin more attractive. Historically, we’ve seen this play out—post-2020 halving, Fed easing helped fuel Bitcoin’s climb to $69,000 in 2021 as cheap money chased high returns.

Some analysts are banking on a repeat performance. If the Fed loosens the purse strings, a wave of capital could swamp the current derivative drag, potentially catapulting Bitcoin past $100,000. It’s not a far-fetched idea—liquidity has long been crypto’s best friend. But we’re not buying into blind hype. Crypto’s chaos rarely follows neat predictions, and pinning hopes on exact price targets like $100,000 often reeks of wishful thinking over hard analysis. Still, favorable economic conditions could be the wildcard Bitcoin needs right now.

Risks on the Horizon: A Slide to $76,000?

Not everyone’s optimistic, and for good reason. A vocal chunk of analysts warns that if covered call selling keeps dominating and macro conditions falter, Bitcoin could take a nasty hit. Some toss out $76,000 as a potential floor—a roughly 15% drop from current levels that would sting anyone who bought in recently. We’re wary of such precise forecasts; the market’s volatility laughs at crystal balls. But the logic holds: persistent options-driven selling, paired with a lack of fresh buying catalysts, could indeed drag prices lower.

The options market’s influence isn’t new—back in 2021, futures trading amplified both pumps and dumps, often leaving retail traders as collateral damage. Today’s covered call trend feels like a more calculated gut punch, orchestrated by whales who’ve mastered the game. It’s not a scam in the traditional sense, but let’s not sugarcoat it: these tactics can mislead smaller players into thinking the market’s bearish when underlying demand tells a different story. Stay sharp—don’t let whale moves cloud your judgment.

A Glimmer of Hope: Seller Exhaustion in Sight

Amid the gloom, there’s a flicker of good news. Bitfinex, a major crypto exchange, recently highlighted signs of “seller exhaustion” after waves of heavy deleveraging and panic-selling by short-term holders. For the uninitiated, seller exhaustion is like a yard sale where everyone’s frantically offloaded their goods at bargain prices—eventually, they run out of stuff to sell, and the market can stabilize or even rebound as buyers step in. We’ve seen this before; late 2022 lows often followed similar patterns of capitulation before relief rallies kicked in.

This isn’t a guarantee of moonshots, but it suggests the relentless selling pressure might be tapering off. If buying momentum returns—perhaps fueled by those ETF inflows or a Fed pivot—Bitcoin could claw its way out of this rut. It’s a thin thread to cling to, but in a market this choppy, we’ll take any lifeline we can get.

The Bigger Picture: Bitcoin’s Maturing Pains and Decentralized Ideals

Zooming out, what we’re witnessing is Bitcoin growing up—and not always gracefully. The rise of covered call selling signals a market far removed from the wild HODLer days of yore. OGs who scooped Bitcoin at $1 or mined it on ancient laptops are now wielding Wall Street-grade tools, squeezing yield from their stacks without selling a single sat. It’s impressive, no doubt, but it’s also a double-edged sword. These whales are padding their wallets while throttling the price appreciation that could lift the entire community.

As Bitcoin maximalists at heart, we feel the sting. Satoshi Nakamoto’s vision was peer-to-peer money, a middle finger to centralized control—not a playground for derivatives that mimic the very systems we sought to disrupt. Whales playing these games clash with the ethos of decentralization and freedom we champion. Yet, as proponents of effective accelerationism, we can’t ignore that rapid adoption, even with growing pains, pushes Bitcoin closer to being the future of finance. It’s a messy paradox, but one worth wrestling with.

We also can’t pretend Bitcoin must do it all. Altcoins and other blockchains like Ethereum play crucial roles in this revolution. Ethereum’s smart contracts power decentralized options platforms—think projects like Opyn—that could offer transparent alternatives to the whale-dominated markets we’re seeing now. These niches, which Bitcoin isn’t built to fill, enrich the broader ecosystem. Still, when whale strategies distort the spot price, it’s hard not to call foul. Are these OGs betraying the spirit of crypto, or just outsmarting us all?

Navigating the Grind: What’s Next for Bitcoin?

The standoff between raw demand and derivative pressures isn’t resolving overnight. Bitcoin’s path past $90,000 remains a battlefield, with whales, market makers, and macro forces all vying for control. We’re bullish on Bitcoin’s long-term role as a disruptor of the status quo, a bastion of privacy and financial sovereignty—but we’re not blind to the hurdles. If the Fed cuts rates, or if seller exhaustion fully plays out, these whale tactics might get drowned out by a flood of fresh capital. Until then, it’s a slog.

We’re not here to peddle false hope or baseless price targets. The reality is stark: internal market games are holding Bitcoin back, and no amount of ETF hype can mask that right now. But every challenge is a chance to adapt. Keep your eyes peeled, question the moves of the big players, and remember—crypto’s strength has always been its resilience, not its smoothness.

Key Questions and Takeaways on Bitcoin’s Price Struggle

• Why is Bitcoin’s price stuck near $90,000 despite high demand?
  Bitcoin whales using covered call selling are triggering market makers to sell in the spot market, creating persistent downward pressure even as Bitcoin ETF inflows reflect strong institutional interest.
• How does covered call selling hurt Bitcoin market trends?
  Whales sell call options for premiums, leading market makers to hedge by dumping Bitcoin on the spot market, which caps price rallies and drags spot prices down.
• What drives Bitcoin whales to adopt covered call strategies?
  Long-term holders, often OGs from Bitcoin’s early days, use this to generate passive income without selling their holdings, turning idle stacks into steady cash flow.
• Can Federal Reserve rate cuts lift Bitcoin’s price in 2025?
  Yes, lower rates could flood markets with liquidity, a historical boost for risk assets like Bitcoin, potentially igniting a rally beyond current resistance levels.
• What dangers lurk if options trading keeps dominating Bitcoin?
  If covered call selling persists and economic conditions worsen, Bitcoin’s price could slip to $76,000, a steep fall that would hit recent investors hard.
• Are there signals of a Bitcoin market recovery soon?
  Bitfinex notes “seller exhaustion” among short-term holders, hinting that panic-selling is fading, which could spark a relief rally if buyers return in force.
• Do whale strategies clash with Bitcoin’s decentralized roots?
  These Wall Street-style plays by whales jar with Bitcoin’s core mission of decentralization, raising concerns about prioritizing personal profit over collective growth.