Iran Strikes Spark Options Rush in Energy, Crypto

US military strikes on Iran sent options traders scrambling on June 26. The US Central Command confirmed strikes after a commercial ship was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz. Markets reacted fast.

Oil proxy USO drew immediate attention. Short interest sits at a striking 122% of free float. Availability is just 2.1% of SI. That signals very little room to add new bearish positions. Options expiries on USO cluster tightly through July, pointing to traders positioning for near-term price swings in crude.

Energy majors XOM and CVX both show active options chains with expiries stretching to September. Geopolitical risk has pushed near-dated activity higher. Traders are buying protection into early July.

Crypto names took a hit too. Bitcoin fell below $60,000, its lowest in 20 months. COIN carries 12.2% SI of free float. Short availability is very high at 342%, meaning bears can still pile in easily. Options on COIN run out to late September, offering flexibility for longer-dated hedges.

META drew headlines after reports that Mark Zuckerberg is pushing the company to explore Polymarket and Kalshi. SI on META is low at 1.4%. Options expiries stretch densely through September, including a busy cluster in late August around potential earnings.

The key macro theme today is risk-off driven by Middle East escalation. Oil puts and crypto puts are where unusual flow is concentrated. Traders appear to be hedging quickly rather than making directional bets.

This is not financial advice. All data from ORTEX.