Traders enter 2026 betting that Bitcoin can rally past the $100,000 threshold.

Bitcoin traders entered 2026 with a bullish bias, snapping up options contracts that position for a move into six-digit prices.

Interest has been building since at least Friday in the $100,000 January-expiry call option on Deribit, the largest crypto options exchange by trading volume and open interest. Call options give holders the right, but not the obligation, to buy bitcoin at a fixed price before expiry, making the $100,000 strike a clear bet that spot prices will climb beyond that level.

“Flow remains dominated by rolls, with a notable uptick in interest around the 30 January 100k calls,” said Jasper De Maere, desk strategist at Wintermute.

Data from Amberdata show open interest in the $100,000 January call jumped by 420 BTC over the past 24 hours, representing roughly $38.8 million in additional notional exposure. That marks the largest increase among all January call options and across all expiries on Deribit, where each contract corresponds to one bitcoin.

Overall notional open interest in the option stands at about $1.45 billion, with January maturities accounting for approximately $828 million, according to Deribit Metrics.

The surge in upside positioning mirrors the bullish sentiment that prevailed through much of 2025, when traders routinely targeted call strikes between $100,000 and $140,000.

QCP Capital said demand for bullish options could intensify if bitcoin’s rally extends beyond $94,000. The cryptocurrency is up roughly 5% in the first five days of the year and briefly rose above $93,000 early Monday.

“Post-December expiry positioning has shifted, with BTC perpetual funding on Deribit jumping above 30%, indicating dealers are now short gamma to the upside,” QCP Capital said last week. “That dynamic became evident as spot broke above $90,000, triggering hedging flows into perpetuals and near-dated calls.”

“A sustained move above $94,000 could further magnify this effect,” the firm added.