BTC Dip to $89K, LTH Covered Call Trigger Market Maker Hedge

Key Highlights:

• Long-term Bitcoin holders sell covered calls.
• BTC dips by 0.7% today, December 15, 2025.
• BTC is struggling at $90,000 and is currently eyeing $88,000 as the support.

Market analyst Jeff Park has pointed out that long-term holders (LTHs) sell covered call options. Covered calls are commonly used by experienced Bitcoin (BTC) holders who already own large BTC positions. By selling call options, they earn premium income while agreeing to sell their Bitcoin at a predefined price if the market rises above that level. This strategy is used when investors are expecting limited upside or sideways price action, rather than a strong rally.

However, this behaviour has second-order effects on the broader market. When long-term holders sell call options, market makers who take the opposite side of those trades must hedge their risk.

According to the report, if the market makers want to stay neutral, they usually sell spot BTC or short BTC exposure. As more covered calls are sold, more hedging activity occurs, creating additional selling pressure in the spot market, even if holders themselves are not directly dumping their coins.

This mechanism helps explain BTC’s recent weakness. As of today, December 15, 2025, the token has slipped about 0.74% and has dropped down from the $90,000 mark. At press time, the price of the token stands at $89,539.65 with a dip of 0.7% in the last 24-hours as per CoinGecko.

The token is as of now struggling to stay above the $90,000 mark. The trading volume has increased on major exchanges. This indicates that the trading activity has on the blockchain has increased instead of a passive drift, which is consistent with hedging-driven flows.

At the same time, on-chain data adds another layer of caution. BTC supply held by long-term holders, defined as coins unmoved for over 155 days, has climbed to 14.8 million BTC. While this usually signals conviction, Park suggests it may now indicate early-stage distribution, where seasoned holders monetize their positions through derivatives rather than outright selling.

The combination of rising LTH supply and options-driven hedging creates a feedback loop that suppresses spot prices without triggering panic selling.

Covered Calls: A Hedging Tool Turning Bearish

Big, long-time Bitcoin holders are not selling their coins right away, but they are using a strategy where they can earn extra income while prices move sideways. They do this by selling something like a “price promise.” They get paid upfront, but agree to sell their Bitcoin later if prices rise too much. This helps them make money without fully exiting Bitcoin.

The companies on the other side of these trades (called market makers) must be ready to deliver BTC if prices move up. In order to protect themselves, they sell Bitcoin immediately in the market. When lots of these deals happen at once, it causes a steady selling pressure, even though no panic selling is happening.

Jeff Park summarises this by simply stating that long-term holders earn income, but in doing so they indirectly push Bitcoin’s price down because market makers are forced to sell spot BTC to stay safe.

Data supports this idea. Trading activity around Bitcoin options has jumped, meaning more of these “price promises” are being made. At the same time, wallets that have held Bitcoin for years have started moving coins, and big investment funds linked to BTC have seen more money leave than enter.

All of this indicates that the market is not crashing but it actually shows that the investors are being cautious. They know that the price action is going to be slow, so they are protecting profits and reducing risk. That caution is what’s dragging BTC’s price lower as of now.

Final Thoughts

As mentioned above, Bitcoin is struggling hard to move back above the $90,000 mark, not because investors are panicking but because long-term holders are quietly keeping prices under pressure. Many experienced holders are using options to earn income in a choppy market, which forces market makers to sell Bitcoin as a hedge.

This comes as broader markets remain cautious ahead of U.S. inflation data and interest-rate uncertainty, dragging down Ethereum and other altcoins as well.

Since Bitcoin is eyeing  support near the $88,000 mark, there is a possibility that it could trigger a short-term bounce, continued options activity by long-term holders may limit upside until this selling pressure eases.

Also Read: Bitcoin Struggles at $90K as Jobless Claims Surge and Whales Cut Holdings