According to market observers and on-chain data, Bitcoin could be approaching a new all-time high following moves in the derivatives market and new purchases from large holders.
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Max Keizer, for a long time Bitcoin Lawyer, pointed to a request from Nasdaq to increase options limits for BlackRock’s IBIT to 1 million contracts – a jump that represents roughly a 40x expansion from previous levels – as a major development that could remove barriers to larger institutional flows.
The options market is expanding significantly
According to Nasdaq According to paperwork and public commentary, the previous contract limit of 25,000 was seen by some as too small for increasing volume.
Market experts argued that previous limits were “discriminatingly small” and suggested that 400,000 contracts would be a more reasonable starting point given current demand.
Some described the change as a move that could place IBIT in a mega-cap derivatives category, creating follow-on effects on how banks and funds structure exposure to bitcoin.
I first explained this in 2017:
Now the BTC derivatives market just expanded by 40x
There are new ATHs in the game.
**November 2, 2017**
Max Keizer first discussed Bitcoin market makers needing to expand their supply to support higher prices in this X-post: “Wall St Traders… https://t.co/aBQ5DdSDay
— Max Keizer (@maxkeiser) November 27, 2025
Banks and market makers are responding
Market makers will be able to hedge larger positions without hitting the old wall, which could lower spreads and deepen available liquidity.
Based on reports, this also means that banks can build structured notes that use IBIT as a reference without exceeding existing risk limits – and JPMorgan is reportedly preparing Bitcoin-backed structured notes that would track BlackRock’s IBIT.
These products could channel steady, institutional flows into the market rather than one-off spikes.
Buyers from the chain step in
According to Glassnode Accumulation trend score Per cohort, holders of 10,000 BTC or more have moved to net accumulation and now show a score of 0.8, indicating strong buying behavior.
The 1,000 to 10,000 BTC group has also turned positive for the first time since September, while the 100 to 1,000 BTC cohort has been actively accumulating since October and continues to buy despite recent declines. Even retail holders with less than 1 BTC are showing their strongest accumulation since July.
Price action and value zones
Bitcoin’s price behavior supports the buying story. The token fell into the low $80,000 area that served as support in May and then quickly climbed back above $90,000, which many traders took as a sign that the market sees value in the $80,000 zone.
Based on reports, the average cost basis for US spot bitcoin ETFs was almost $82,000, and that figure is cited as a reason why institutions found the dip attractive.
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Market risks and short-term noise
Keizer had previously warned that when size limits blocked hedging, the market would be prone to pullbacks – and some analysts say this is part of the reason for the recent volatility.
Expanding the option limit would allow volume sellers to enter more smoothly, which could reduce erratic swings but will not eliminate market risk.
Price spikes are still possible and downside moves remain a real threat if flows slow or macro conditions change.
Featured image of Gemini, chart from TradingView