BlockTower Capital Makes a $1 Million Bet on Bitcoin Going to $50,000 by Next December

The cryptocurrency hedge fund BlockTower Capital was behind the bet, people familiar with the matter told Business Insider.

Kara Chin

People familiar with the matter told Business Insider that a hedge fund trader or group of traders made a $1 million bet on bitcoin hitting $50,000 by next December on Wednesday.

The traders bought call options on LedgerX, a cryptocurrency options exchange, that would allow them to buy 275 bitcoins at $50,000 a coin, should bitcoin reach that price by December 28, people familiar with the matter told Business Insider.

The Wall Street Journal reported the bet earlier this week, but it was unclear whether one entity was behind the options bet and whether it was made up of one or more trades.

The massive bet on bitcoin comes as the cryptocurrency has soared to new all-time highs in recent weeks, buoyed by a surge in interest from retail and institutional investors alike.

Bitcoin hit a record high of $20,089 on Wednesday on the GDAX exchange, before pulling back slightly to trade at around $19,444 on Thursday morning.

The cryptocurrency has since soared to new all-time highs, hitting $24,214 on December 14. It has since pulled back and was trading at around $14,144 on Thursday morning.

The huge price swings in bitcoin have attracted the attention of regulators, with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission both said to be examining the recent volatility in the cryptocurrency markets.

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