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After a torrid start to the week, the price of Bitcoin appears to be finally stabilizing and building some bullish momentum. On Friday, March 14, the flagship cryptocurrency demonstrated this growing momentum, as it steadily climbed the charts and briefly crossed the $85,000 mark to close the week.

Interestingly, the BTC open interest (OI) has also been moving in a similar direction as the price over the past few days. With the rising open interest, the pressing question that demands a quick answer is — is the Bitcoin bull run back on track?

BTC Open Interest Jumps To $27.9 Billion — What Does It Mean?

In a new post on the X platform, a CryptoQuant community analyst with the pseudonym Maartunn revealed that the Bitcoin open interest is on the rise. For context, the open interest metric tracks the total amount of money poured into BTC derivatives at any given time. 

According to data from CryptoQuant, the Bitcoin OI witnessed a notable upswing on Friday, rising to $27.9 billion. Maartunn noted that this significant move marked an over 13% jump (more than $3.3 billion) from the metric’s most recent low.

Source: @JA_Maartun

Typically, an increase in the Bitcoin open interest suggests that investors are opening up new positions in the futures and options market. It implies that investors are pouring money into BTC derivatives at the time. Conversely, a falling OI value indicates that derivatives traders are leaving their positions or getting liquidated in the market.

A growing open interest could be a healthy bullish sign for the premier cryptocurrency — especially if historical precedence is anything to go by. The influx of fresh capital into the market suggests surging investor sentiment (typically confidence) or speculation on the Bitcoin price trajectory.

As more investors flood the derivatives market and continue to bet on BTC’s price, the rising open interest could further heighten volatility in the Bitcoin market. Increased volatility signals that the flagship cryptocurrency could potentially experience large price movements soon.

What Next For Bitcoin Price?

BTC’s price does appear to be gearing for a significant move to the upside. Chartered Market Technician Tony Severino shared on the X platform that the market leader could make a run to around $95,000 over the next few days.

Source: @tonythebullBTC

As of this writing, the price of Bitcoin stands at around $84,500, reflecting an almost 5% increase in the past 24 hours.

The price of BTC on the daily timeframe | Source: BTCUSDT chart on TradingView

Featured image created by DALL-E, chart from TradingView

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According to reports, Ark Invest has added 997 Bitcoin (BTC) to its holdings in two separate transactions. The asset management firm, led by Cathie Wood, made the purchases on March 13, 2025, through Coinbase. The total value of the acquisition is estimated at approximately $80 million.

Ark Invest Executes Two Bitcoin Transactions

Based on data by Arkham Intelligence, Ark Invest bought 498 BTC in its first transaction, followed by another 499 BTC. The purchases were made at a time when the top crypto’s price was experiencing slight fluctuations. As of March 14, 2025, Bitcoin was trading at $82,234, down 1.40%.

Analysts note that while Bitcoin’s price has seen recent volatility, Ark Invest’s decision to buy suggests confidence in a potential price rebound. The firm has previously capitalized on price dips, making substantial purchases when the market was under pressure. Some experts believe this latest move is a sign that ARK expects BTC to appreciate in the coming months.

ARK INVEST RECEIVED $80M OF $BTC FROM COINBASE TODAY

ARK INVEST IS BUYING BITCOIN pic.twitter.com/FmpyoNa15A

— Arkham (@arkham) March 13, 2025

Ark Increases Stake In Coinbase

On top of its Bitcoin acquisition, Ark Invest also increased its position in Coinbase, buying over 64,000 shares valued at around $11.50 million. This marks the firm’s largest Coinbase investment since August last year. Reports indicate that Coinbase now accounts for more than 7% of the Ark fund, making it the fund’s third-largest holding.

Coinbase has been a key part of Ark’s investment strategy for years. The firm has consistently added shares of the exchange, reinforcing its belief that the platform will continue to benefit from increased cryptocurrency adoption. Coinbase’s stock has faced some pressure amid regulatory concerns, but Ark’s purchase suggests it sees long-term potential.

Cathie Wood Remains Bullish On Crypto

Analysts claim that Ark Invest has continuously shown faith in Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency industry as a whole. Despite market instability, the company has been making active investments in digital assets. According to reports, Wood still believes that Bitcoin is a significant financial asset with room to expand in the future.

Wood has said in the past that Bitcoin may finally reach new all-time highs because there aren’t many of them and they’re becoming more and more popular. It’s clear that the company is willing to take a chance on long-term benefits by pouring massive amounts of money in the asset, even when the market goes down.

What It Means For The Market

People who follow the market are paying close attention to what Ark Invest has been doing lately. Institutional purchases in Bitcoin often change how the market feels as a whole. Some people believe that Bitcoin is still valuable even though its price has been going up and down lately.

Featured image from Gemini Imagen, chart from TradingView

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The crypto market is set to see $3.29 billion in Bitcoin and Ethereum options expire today, a development that could trigger short-term price volatility and impact traders’ profitability.

Of this total, Bitcoin (BTC) options account for $2.88 billion, while Ethereum (ETH) options represent $417 million.

Bitcoin and Ethereum Holders Brace For Volatility

According to data on Deribit, 35,176 Bitcoin options will expire today, slightly higher than last week, where 29,005 BTC contracts went bust. The options contracts due for expiry today have a put-to-call ratio of 0.74 and a maximum pain point of $86,000.

The put-to-call ratio indicates a generally bullish sentiment despite the pioneer crypto’s ongoing descent from the $90,000 mark.

Meanwhile, 220,301 Ethereum options will expire today, down from 223,395 last week. With a put-to-call ratio of 0.69 and a max pain point of $2,100, the expirations could influence ETH’s short-term price movement.

As the options contracts near expiration at 8:00 UTC today, Bitcoin and Ethereum prices are expected to approach their respective maximum pain points. According to BeInCrypto data, BTC was trading for $81,992 as of this writing, whereas ETH was exchanging hands for $1,891.

This suggests a potential recovery for Bitcoin and Ethereum prices as smart money aims to move them toward the “max pain” level. According to the Max Pain theory in options trading, prices tend to gravitate toward strike prices where the highest number of contracts, both calls and puts, expire worthless.

“Max pain has been ticking lower week after week. Do you see this continuing, or is a reversal coming?” Deribit analysts posed.

Nevertheless, price pressure on BTC and ETH will likely ease after 08:00 UTC on Friday when Deribit settles the contracts. However, the sheer scale of these expirations could still fuel heightened volatility in the crypto markets.

Analysts Discuss Crypto Market Sentiment

According to analysts at Greeks.live, market sentiment is predominantly bearish in the short-term despite positive US CPI (Consumer Price Index) data earlier this week.

“Traders are watching key potential support levels and discussing a potential bottom for BTC, with some suggesting $60,000 levels as a possible downside target,” the analysts wrote.

The analysts also note that some believe President Trump’s tariffs and inflation are more significant market drivers than geopolitical events like a Ukraine peace deal.  

“Vladimir Putin says he agrees with proposals for ceasefire – but adds he has questions and Russia ‘now on the offensive in all areas’,” Sky News reported.

Analysts note that peace and stability could fuel market confidence, which could be bullish for stocks and crypto. This aligns with a recent JPMorgan survey, in which 51% of traders identified tariffs and inflation as the top market movers for the year.

Elsewhere, analyst Tony Stewart discusses option flows in the crypto market, focusing on Bitcoin derivatives trading on Deribit. He indicates shifts in market sentiment and trading strategies that saw put buyers and call sellers profit from the March 11 price dip to 76,500 levels, followed by a less supported bounce back due to heavy selling of calls above $90,000.

According to Stewart, this highlights a strategic rotation by traders, moving from overly optimistic March and June call positions to more conservative April and May calls. It also reflects adjustments to market volatility.