How to Use Options for Trading? Bitcoin Market as an Example (Part 1)
Current possible Bitcoin price trend on December 13th:
BTC daily closing price has once again fallen below the 365-day moving average, i.e., the annual line. Breaking below the annual line — an important long-term bull/bear demarcation — indicates that medium- and long-term investors are relatively pessimistic about future price movements. The recent rebound rallies frequently showing long upper wicks, the so-called "pin-bar patterns," also offer a glimpse into this dynamic. The recurring long upper wicks indicate that while there is buying interest in the market, the sustainability is quite limited, to the point where the price cannot stay elevated for long.
However, looking at the 1-hour short-term chart, the price has recently broken above the 1-hour MA60 moving average. Additionally, the recent decline has shown signs of weakening, suggesting a rebound is needed in the short term, though the upside room is limited. The previous dense trading zone in the $7,500–$7,600 range is a strong resistance area, and the price will struggle to effectively break through it. More likely, once the price reaches that zone, it will face significant selling pressure again, causing the price to resume its downward trend. On an even shorter timeframe, special attention should be paid to the $7,280 resistance level.
Based on the possible market analysis above, a simple OKX Options simulated trading strategy:
A sound approach would be to simply sell a 191213 ATM call option. If today's market shows no rebound by the expiration date, the premium received when selling the option can be kept in full.
Buying a 191213 ATM put option is also a relatively straightforward strategy. Although today's market did not continue to fall as expected, as time passes, the value of this option will increase. Whether selling it at a higher price directly or waiting for exercise, one can profit handsomely.
So what is an ATM option? Let's take a look.
ATM (at-the-money): A option where, regardless of call or put, the current underlying price is very close to or equal to the strike price.
This is the trading page of the OKX Options simulated trading platform, which displays ATM option information for the nearest expiration date by default, covering the following aspects:
**Red box: ** Shows the option's exercise date, which can be understood as the expiration date of a futures contract. In this screenshot, the exercise date is 4 PM Beijing time on Friday of this week. Below the red box, the specific time remaining until the exercise date is displayed.
**Green box: ** Shows the option's name. From the option name, several pieces of information can be derived: The first segment, TBTCUSD, represents the underlying asset of the option, which is TBTCUSD — a virtual Bitcoin used in the simulated trading platform; in live trading, BTCUSD, i.e., Bitcoin, is used. The second segment, 191213, like the red box, indicates the exercise date — December 13th, 2019. The third segment, 7000, represents the strike price of $7,000 USD. This value is used to compare with the current market price of the underlying asset to calculate returns and liquidation prices. The fourth segment, C (Call), represents a call option, which is also displayed in Chinese below; if it is P (Put), that means a put option.
**Blue box: ** Shows the current order book. Like futures contracts, red represents the ask price, green represents the bid price, and the corresponding option quantities are shown alongside.
**Yellow box: ** Shows some option parameters. The most important are the two parameters in the first row: the spot index and the mark price. The spot index directly affects the buying and selling price of this option. It is also the Bitcoin spot market price used to compare with the strike price at expiration to calculate returns and liquidation. Special attention should be paid to the mark price. The mark price is the fair value of this option calculated by the platform's system algorithm, and it changes in real time.
**Why is it important to focus on the mark price?** Because we have noticed that in the simulated trading platform, there is a significant spread between the order book price and the mark price. This situation is akin to an item with an actual value of $5 being driven up to $15 in market price due to a buying frenzy. In such cases, the best course of action is to sell at the market price rather than waste money on a purchase. This is precisely why some users say, "Why did I lose 70% the moment I bought?"
Disclaimer
This article may contain product-related content that is not applicable to your region. This article is intended solely to provide general information and makes no responsibility for any factual errors or omissions. This article represents the author's personal views only and does not constitute the views of OKX. This article is not intended to provide any advice, including but not limited to: (i) investment advice or investment recommendations; (ii) offers or solicitations to buy, sell, or hold digital assets; or (iii) financial, accounting, legal, or tax advice. Holding digital assets (including stablecoins) involves high risk and prices may fluctuate significantly or even become worthless. You should carefully consider whether trading or holding digital assets is appropriate for you based on your financial situation. For questions specific to your circumstances, please consult your legal/tax/investment professional. The information contained in this article (including market data and statistics, if any) is for general reference purposes only. Although all reasonable precautions have been taken in preparing such data and charts, we assume no liability for any factual errors or omissions expressed herein. © 2025 OKX. This article may be reproduced or distributed in full or in excerpts of 100 words or less, provided that such use is non-commercial. Any reproduction or distribution of the full article must prominently state: "This article is copyrighted © 2025 OKX, used with permission." Permitted excerpts must cite the article title and include attribution, e.g., "Article title, [Author name (if applicable)], © 2025 OKX". Some content may have been generated or assisted by artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Derivative works and other uses of this article are not permitted.
Show More
Recommended Reading
Can You Profit from Bitcoin's Decline? How to Trade Futures Contracts
With the continuous expansion of the cryptocurrency market represented by Bitcoin, various forms of derivatives trading have gradually emerged alongside spot trading, serving as a hedging tool. Among these, futures trading has attracted the most attention. What is futures trading? Futures contracts are the most common form of trading contract in the cryptocurrency derivatives market. Digital assets futures trading refers to an agreement between the buyer and seller to trade a certain asset at a specified price at a future date.
January 16, 2026
Simpler Than Copying Strategies? Follow the Top Trader with One Click on OKX, Let Traders Help You Earn
Whether in traditional finance or the cryptocurrency market, strategic trading is a very important and critical method within the trading system. When facing complex trading environments and extreme market conditions, even those with solid theoretical and technical knowledge and extensive trading experience can easily miss trading opportunities or make incorrect judgments and decisions influenced by emotions. Strategic trading is precisely an effective tool to address these issues. Now that you have the trading tools, how do you maximize
November 21, 2025
Part 5: Strategic Trading Series — Coin Savings Plan
Preface: We often have such speculation: In a bull market, there are many digital assets that surge significantly. If one could continuously capture assets with large gains, such as catching one that doubles every month, after a year your assets would become 2 to the power of 12, i.e., 4,096 times — a staggering figure. Of course, this is an almost impossible feat, as it is very difficult to continuously capture surging assets. This is also a common issue many users face: In a bull market, although
November 3, 2025
Which Countries/Regions Do Not Support Registering and Using OKX
OKX currently does not provide services to customers in the following regions: certain U.S. territories such as New York, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands (St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas), Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Crimea, Malaysia, Syria, Bangladesh, and Bolivia. For details, please refer to the OKX Terms of Service.
April 25, 2024
Quick Guide to OKX Common Products and Features
OKX (www. okx. com) is one of the world's renowned digital assets service platforms, primarily serving global users with Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital assets spot and derivatives trading services, while also exploring the world of DeFi, dApps, NFTs, and GameFi with users. On OKX, you can enjoy smooth spot and futures trading experiences, stay updated on tokens in trending sectors/concepts in real time, and more.
April 25, 2024
Learn Candlestick Charts from Zero | Part 5: The Importance of Candlestick Pattern Application
Trends guide price movements; understand the language of price. Signals indicate when to buy and sell; goodbye to gut-feeling trading. Part 1: Bullish candlestick patterns at key levels In the previous two installments of this chapter, we covered the application of bullish and bearish candlestick patterns. However, these patterns are not effective at every level. In this section, we will explain the importance of where these patterns appear. Where do bullish patterns perform best? The first scenario: during a clear uptrend, approaching a
April 25, 2024
