$1 Mln Bet On Bitcoin In December 2018 - Is It Speculation Or Mania?

Would you bet $1 mln that Bitcoin will hit $50,000 by the end of 2018? According to data from LedgerX, a market for Bitcoin derivatives, one investor has already done just that, purchasing nearly $1 mln in Bitcoin options with a $50,000 call.

What such a bet means is that if this time next year the price is less than $50,000, the options will be worthless and the owner will lose the full $1 mln investment. However, if Bitcoin’s price exceeds $50,000 by next December, the owner of the options will have the right to buy 275 Bitcoins for $50,000 a coin, for a total transaction of about $13.8 mln.

Depending on by how much the price exceeds $50,000 a year from now, the bet could potentially be very lucrative. Although some investors have predicted BTC will eventually reach $1 mln a coin, they remain vague about when exactly.

While unwilling to disclose who placed the options, LedgerX CEO Paul Chou indicated the investor was likely an institution, saying: