Deribit Exchange Launches Early BTC and ETH Options For Upcoming US Elections

Major cryptocurrency derivatives exchange Deribit has announced the early introduction of options that allow interested users to bet and benefit from potential Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) price action ahead of the US presidential election. The options will be available from Thursday, July 18, and will expire on November 8, three days after the election.

 

The availability of election-related options is beneficial to crypto users interested in speculating on asset prices, especially as they may be affected by current events. For instance, some users may be able to monitor sentiments towards crypto from the broad market or from specific candidates. Also, events in the US crypto scene sometimes set the pace for other countries, as was seen with the US SEC’s approval of spot BTC ETFs this year. On the other hand, global crypto users may simply be able to earn from speculation and bets, similar to several Japanese online casinos where players can also potentially multiply their crypto many times over from placing small bets.

 

According to an official X post from Deribit, the exchange is launching the election-tied options in response to client demand. Deribit wants users to enjoy speculating and hedging on possible price action triggered by the elections.

 

“We hope this will provide valuable opportunities for our clients to manage their portfolios and take advantage of market movements towards this significant event,” Deribit wrote.

 

According to data from CoinMarketCap, Deribit is the fifth-largest crypto derivatives exchange, with more than $1.1 billion in 24-hour trading volume, and over $2.2 billion in open interest.

 

BTC and ETH, the largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, could see interesting price swings as the elections draw closer. The likelihood is from the positions both candidates have taken towards crypto. For instance, the Biden Administration has overseen several indictments and lawsuits filed against crypto firms, with authorities applying enforcement action to the industry.

 

However, the crypto community seems to have thrown its support behind Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump, for several reasons. Firstly, Trump has been involved with the crypto sector and has sold a few non-fungible token (NFT) collections. The former President is currently looking to launch a fourth one.

 

In addition to the NFTs, Trump has also publicly spoken in favor of the cryptocurrency sector. He recently criticized Biden’s lack of support for crypto and has called for the community to vote for him as he’s interested in promoting the sector. Following his public pronouncements, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss of the Gemini Exchange each donated $1 million to the Trump campaign, and also asked people interested in crypto to vote for Trump.

 

One of the biggest points in Trump’s favor is his scheduled speech at the upcoming Bitcoin 2024 Conference this month. Trump has confirmed he will speak at the conference, a move that not only draws attention to the conference, but also sways the crypto community in his favor. The industry expects that Trump’s speech will touch on his plans for the industry if he wins the upcoming elections. A Trump presidency is expected to see regulations that boost the crypto sector and support crypto use cases, including crypto gambling, staking, yield farming, and tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs).