Bitcoin Bulls Target $100K as October Outlook Brightens

For the largest wagers on the options board to profit, bitcoin must rise almost 20% within four days. Despite that, traders accumulated them.

Around $16.07 billion worth of bitcoin (BTC) options are set to expire on Friday. The most substantial bullish bets are concentrated at the $90,000 and $100,000 strike prices. Bitcoin currently changes hands at approximately $81,292.

Funds Are Positioned Far Above Current Levels

A call option yields a profit if the price exceeds a predetermined threshold; a put option pays off when it drops. According to Deribit data, Friday's expiration includes 121,676 calls and 68,333 puts. The resulting put/call ratio is 0.56, meaning nearly two bullish contracts for each bearish one.

The largest single call concentration is at $85,000, roughly 5% above bitcoin's present value. Additional piles are at $90,000 and $100,000. Some bets extend to $125,000, which would require a 54% surge.

The biggest put cluster is at $70,000, a price that bitcoin moved above last week.

Each Call Comes with a Counterparty

The chart omits certain details. Open interest merely tallies active contracts; it does not indicate who is gaining. Each of those calls was purchased by someone and sold by someone else.

The max pain point for Friday is $73,000, the level where the most contracts would become worthless. Bitcoin is trading 10% above that threshold.

On Monday, BeInCrypto noted that bitcoin reached an eight-month peak following $262 million in short liquidations.

Watanabe Bullish on October, MEXC Chief Urges Caution

Sota Watanabe, the founder of Astar Network and head of Startale Group—the company developing Sony's Soneium blockchain—believes October will be favorable.

October will be a great month.

— Sota Watanabe (@WatanabeSota) September 21, 2026

Vugar Usi Zade, the CEO of crypto exchange MEXC, expressed less certainty. He stated that bitcoin disregarded a Federal Reserve interest rate increase and the failure of the CLARITY Act, a US legislative proposal aimed at establishing crypto market regulations.

Spot bitcoin funds attracted $593 million over Thursday and Friday. Shares of Strategy (MSTR) gained 17% during the week.

For the fourth quarter of 2026, the market needs multiple episodes to consider a trend reversal.

He identified tensions in the oil market as the most probable catalyst to shift sentiment. This week's ETF flows will indicate which side yields.

The bets will be settled on Friday.