Bullish Exchange, which launched its Bitcoin options product in October 2025, has already muscled its way past OKX, Binance, and CME to claim the second-largest share of global BTC options open interest.
By the end of January 2026, Bullish had accumulated $4 billion in open interest. By April, that figure had ballooned past $6 billion, putting the exchange firmly behind only Deribit. The exchange also reported options trading volumes exceeding $9 billion across Q4 2025 and early 2026.
A market in transition
In mid-January 2026, Bitcoin options open interest peaked at nearly $74 billion, actually surpassing futures open interest, which sat around $65 billion at the time.
The concentration of Bitcoin options activity at those $80K to $95K strike prices underscores hedging behavior among institutional investors. When Bitcoin is swinging between $80K and $95K, as it was in late 2025 and early 2026, the ability to buy downside protection without selling your spot position is enormously valuable.
