Dogecoin Options Reach Record High Amid Market Speculation

According to Decrypt, open interest on Dogecoin options reached an unprecedented $4 billion over the weekend, marking a new high for the popular meme coin. Data from CoinGlass revealed that on Saturday, crypto futures traders had $4.06 billion in bets on Dogecoin. However, by Monday, this figure had decreased to $3.6 billion. A significant portion of these traders are betting on a future decline in the asset's price, with $1.9 billion in short contracts awaiting expiration. Open interest refers to the total number of unsettled contracts in the market. In the derivatives markets, traders speculate on the future price movements of cryptocurrencies like Dogecoin (DOGE). Earlier this month, following Donald Trump's presidential election victory, open interest in Dogecoin approached a record $2.75 billion. The surge in bets on Saturday followed a rapid increase in the asset's price on Friday, driven by news that Tesla CEO Elon Musk plans to introduce payments on his social media platform, X (formerly Twitter). Musk has previously expressed interest in using Dogecoin for payments on the platform. Interest in Dogecoin has grown significantly this year, partly due to Musk's renewed discussions about the meme coin. He even named a government agency D.O.G.E.—the Department of Governmental Efficiency—and will lead it alongside billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy when President-elect Donald Trump assumes office in January. Musk, a vocal supporter of Donald Trump, has long favored DOGE, often causing price surges with his endorsements. Originally created as a joke, Dogecoin now commands substantial trading activity and is the seventh-largest digital asset by market capitalization. It has inspired numerous copycat coins and a thriving meme coin market, known for its volatility. Currently, Dogecoin is priced at just over $0.39, reflecting a nearly 9% decline over the past day. Despite this, the coin has surged over 185% in the past month, according to CoinGecko.