The Bitcoin Wipeout Is Just the Beginning

BY MARK SEBASTIAN 

October 15, 2025

I know, I know Bitcoin is this magic pixie dust that keeps going up and up. It is one of the best performing assets, if not the best over the last decade and the ultimate stamp of approval is its widely held appeal. 

 

Once Blackrock listed a Bitcoin product, I knew it would be around for a while. What I will never get over is how it drops 10% faster than I can say “lickety split”.

 

September 10th’s wipeout in crypto is weighing on Blackrock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT)

 

After highs in early October, IBIT is trading weakly. I would have Licia comment on last Wednesday’s DOJI, but implied volatility is climbing long after the harsh selloff.

1 month chart of IBIT with 30 day IV

The Option Fingerprint for IBIT is large. 

 

This is more an outcome of Blackrock pushing its marquee Crypto product. But it’s huge volume. That kind of volume is for institutions that want their own Bitcoin over the long-term.

 

I am still looking at the shorter accumulation, but the short-term momentum outweighs the accumulation. 

 

The reason is the lack of liquidity. IBIT, like other cryptos, overreacts when liquidity dries up.

IBIT Fingerprint Oct 15, 2025

In this case, the climb in volatility overshadows any option accumulation in the short-term. 

 

I expect IBIT to make new short term lows.

 

Buying a put option is a solid way to play it.

 

The Most Unloved AI Stock on the Planet

 

There are two types of companies in tech right now:

 

Those that make a boatload of dollars on AI like Nvidia Corp (NVDA).

 

And one that will make a boatload riding the benefits of AI across, like Amazon.com (AMZN)

 

Right now, stocks that will make money from AI efficiency are getting no love.

 AMZN is one of those stocks.

 

Now, part of the Flash 7 method is to ride a turnaround story. I used Robinhood Trading Inc (HOOD) as the poster child for that strategy last year. 

 

AMZN is so massively held that it is hard to get a meaningful pickup in the Option Fingerprints, but I am looking and my tool coming out soon will make it easier. 

 

I’ll talk more about that live on Monday. You can click here to add it to your calendar.

 

Still, it’s the largest retailer on the planet and just so happens to fit right into the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) realm with Whole Foods healthy choices and drug kiosks for low cost prescription medication. 

 

On a stock like AMZN, I want to see Fingerprints out to 2028. Alas, it is thin right now but it is easy to track accumulation here.

I am going pure MAHA for my longs here. No Volatility signal, just the news that the world’s biggest retailer will benefit from the MAHA shift. 

 

A longer term play for sure, but one I am buying.

 

Mark

Mark Sebastian

Mark Sebastian

Mark Sebastian is a former member of both the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and the American Stock Exchange (AMEX), where he spent years mastering the art of options trading in the most competitive environment imaginable. As Chief Investment Officer at the hedge fund Karman Line Capital, Mark manages sophisticated options strategies for institutional clients. He is the author of two highly regarded books on options trading: ‘The Option Traders Hedge Fund’ and ‘Trading Options for Edge.’ Mark is a frequent guest on major financial networks including CNBC, Fox Business News, Bloomberg, and First Business News, where he provides expert commentary on market volatility and options strategies.

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About the Author

Mark Sebastian

Mark Sebastian

Former CBOE floor trader and CIO at Karman Line Capital. Author of ‘The Option Traders Hedge Fund’ with over 30 years of options trading experience.

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