Bitcoin Falls Below $80,000 Ahead of Federal Reserve Decision: Bearish Options Demand Remains Dominant

Bitcoin fell below $80,000 on Tuesday, down about 0.4% since midnight UTC, briefly dropping to around $79,700. Ethereum decreased by 0.5%, and the DeFi index dropped by 1.8%, making it the largest decline among the indices tracked by CoinDesk.

Meanwhile, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose by 3.1%, and Asian tech stocks strengthened, but the crypto market failed to follow the rebound. On the macro front, the Federal Reserve will begin a two-day meeting on interest rates on Tuesday and announce its rate decision on Wednesday. CME FedWatch data shows that the market expects about a 90% probability that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged, and traders will be watching for any potential rate hikes later in the year.

In the options market, the $72,000 put option expiring on December 25 was the most traded Bitcoin option in the past 24 hours, and the 25 Delta put/call skew for Bitcoin across all maturities is positive, indicating that there is still demand for downside protection in the market.