Market Wrap: With Fed Rate Policy Unchanged, Bitcoin Passes $11K; Ether Options Bet on Price Below $400

Bitcoin's price continues to move up, with a little help from the U.S. Federal Reserve, while ether traders are hedging in the options market.

The price lost steam to $10,979 as of press time, however.

The last time bitcoin hit $12,000 was back on Sept. 1.Bitcoin mining could play a role in near-term market movements, added Van Huis.

"If BTC prices are higher, miners may look to capitalize on it by selling to raise cash," he said.

"Miners would essentially be speculating on whether it would be more profitable to just let their bitcoin holdings ride because they can't get access to equipment, or sell BTC to raise cash for equipment to mine more efficiently going forward," added Van Huis.Italian over-the-counter trader Alessandro Andreotti pointed to the amount of bitcoin locked in decentralized finance, which crossed the 100,000 BTC mark this week, as a bullish sign for the world's oldest cryptocurrency.

Ether options bet below $400.Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, was up Wednesday trading around $365 and climbing 0.28% in 24 hours as of 20:00 UTC.Ether options traders remain biased toward spot prices below $400. While 36% expect ether to be over $380, only 22% of options bets expect ether over $400 next week at the Sept. 25 expiration.

William Purdy, an options trader and founder of analysis firm PurdyAlerts, said that ether's implied volatility, the forecast of its price movements, has been higher than realized volatility, a measure of price movements from past behavior, since July.

As option prices are based on implied volatility, he sees an opportunity in shorting ether options.

"The implied volatility is priced at a premium to historical volatility as ether investors are looking for downside price protection from future unfortunate events," said Purdy.

Oil is up 4.4%. Price per barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude: $40.09.Gold was in the green 0.27% and at $1,958 as of press time.