The largest token changed hands at US$96,200 as of 2 p.m. Friday in Hong Kong, partly paring a nearly 3 percent decline from the day before. Smaller rivals, including ether and dogecoin, a favorite of the meme crowd, were oscillating in tight ranges.
The crypto market is also bracing for the expiration of a significant amount of Bitcoin and Ether options contracts on Friday – one of the most significant events in digital asset history, according to prime broker FalconX.
The notional value of Bitcoin contracts on the Deribit exchange – one of the largest for digital asset derivatives – exceeds $14 billion, while the equivalent figure for ether is around $3.8 billion .
Sean McNulty, director of trading at liquidity provider Arbelos Markets, flagged the risk of a “choppy market” amid the expiration of derivatives positions.
