Markets
Let'S Go Brandon
A sticker for the cryptocurrency bitcoin in a public restroom in Walnut Creek, California (Smith Collection/Getty Images)
EXh-IBIT A

Traders are going gaga over the newest way to speculate on bitcoin

Luke Kawa

The Trump pump isn’t the only catalyst for bitcoin bulls. A decisively pro-crypto US election outcome is being supercharged by the increased accessibility of leveraged ways to bet on bitcoin’s seemingly daily dash to fresh records continuing.

When options on BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust launched on Tuesday, there was one-way traffic.

About 289,000 calls changed hands compared to roughly 65,000 puts. That’s a put/call ratio of 0.23, compared to 1.2 for the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust.

This interest in leveraged exposure to bitcoin upside helped foster upside in bitcoin prices.

“Demand for call options almost certainly helped drive Bitcoin to a record high of about $94,000,” wrote Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart.


That being said, those headline stats for call volumes versus puts might overstate the extent of the bullish positioning. Looking at calls that expire in December with a strike price of $65 as well as the January $60 expiries — which were two of the four most actively traded contracts for this security — a lot of the transactions are taking place on the bid side.

As a reminder, the bid is the highest price a buyer will pay for a security; the ask is the lowest price a seller will accept. When there’s much more activity on the bid than the ask, that’s generally a signal that sellers of that instrument are more motivated than buyers.

Now look at the call options for both of those expiries with a strike price $5 lower, and you’ll see a lot of the activity was taking place on the ask, which implies there are buyers with strong enough demand to cross the spread.

Put those two dynamics together and it looks like there may have been quite a few call spread trades — that is, buying December $60 calls and selling $65s (or purchasing January $55 calls and selling $60s) in order to cheapen the trade and have a more defined risk-reward profile.

We’ll see if Wednesday’s launch of options on the likes of Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund, Bitwise Bitcoin ETF, and the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF shows a similar trend and provides a fresh outlet for the speculative fervor.

More Markets

See all Markets
Dickens, Great Expectations, He said, Aha! would you?

Tech tumbles as momentum stocks run into a blowout jobs report and a wave of profit-taking

The AI trade is under some pressure, taking prices back like... a few days. President Donald Trump is not a fan of the price action.

Trump Administration Considers Reclassifying Marijuana As A Less Dangerous Drug

Trulieve to list on NYSE, a first for US cannabis sector

More may be on the way: several other US cannabis companies have announced reverse stock splits with the intention of listing on a major exchange.

markets

Lululemon’s stretch getting tested: Stock plunges after after outlook is cut

Lululemon shares are down double digits in premarket trading after the company cut its full-year sales and profit outlook, overshadowing a Q1 beat and raising fresh concerns about the brand’s turnaround efforts.

The company now expects fiscal 2026 revenue to be flat to down 1%, compared with its prior forecast for 2% to 4% growth. Guidance for full-year diluted earnings per share was dragged down to a range of $10.95 to $11.15, below the company’s previous guidance of $12.10 to $12.30 and well below Wall Street’s estimate of $13.26.

Key numbers for Q1:

  • EPS of $1.69 vs. the $1.68 expected.

  • Revenue of $2.47 billion vs. the $2.43 billion expected.

The modest top-line beat masked a widening divergence between Lululemons geographic markets. While international revenue rose 22% overall with a 30% increase in Mainland China, the bigger problem remains North America, where revenue fell 5%.

Interim co-CEO and CFO Meghan Frank acknowledged during the earnings call that recent product rollouts underperformed. A highly anticipated yoga campaign failed to generate its expected halo effect across broader product lines.

Profitability metrics took a major hit, with gross margins contracting by 410 basis points to 54.2% due to mounting tariff costs and promotional markdowns. Operating income consequently fell 37% year over year to $276.9 million.

“We experienced spikes of negative commentary in the media and on social channels with regard to our brand, which had an impact on traffic and overall top-line performance,” Frank said during the earnings call. “And second, not all of our product launches have met our expectations. While we have had several successful launches so far this year, we have seen others as we start Q2 not generate the anticipated guest response.”

Lululemons valuation has already been steadily compressing for years. While it was once one of retails richly valued stocks, investors have been questioning whether the company can return to the double-digit growth era.

The results also arrive during a leadership transition. Lululemon announced back in April that former Nike executive Heidi ONeill is set to take over as CEO in September, with investors looking to her to revive growth in North America and restore the brands growth.

As Lululemon faces both macroeconomic pressure and brand-specific challenges, its stock has dropped around 40% year to date.

markets

US job growth skyrocketed in May, blasting past expectations

The US economy added 172,000 jobs in the month of May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday, sending 10-year Treasury yields higher.

The strong May job market surprised economists. Experts had predicted only 85,000 new jobs — just half the reported number. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%, as expected.

The job growth story is a hopeful spot for the economy as consumers continue to feel inflationary pressure from the Iran war.

Job gains were buoyed by the leisure and hospitality sector, which added 70,000 jobs, as well as local government, healthcare, and education.

Both the March and April jobs reports were revised upward, making them collectively 93,000 higher than previously reported.

Latest Stories

Sherwood Media, LLC and Chartr Limited produce fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and are fully owned subsidiaries of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate, including Robinhood Markets, Inc., Robinhood Financial LLC, Robinhood Securities, LLC, Robinhood Crypto, LLC, Robinhood Money, LLC, Robinhood U.K. Ltd, Robinhood Derivatives, LLC, Robinhood Gold, LLC, Robinhood Asset Management, LLC, Robinhood Credit, Inc., Robinhood Ventures DE, LLC and, where applicable, its managed investment vehicles.