Ask HN: Shorting BTC

#1

Post by maxqin1 » Mon, May 10, 2021, 12:32 PM UTC

Many people are long Bitcoin, but other than holding USD, what opportunities are there to short Bitcoin?

Re: Ask HN: Shorting BTC

#2

Post by Bostonian » Mon, May 10, 2021, 12:49 PM UTC

In general, the cleanest way to short something is using futures, if they exist. They do for Bitcoin: https://www.cmegroup.com/trading/bitcoin-futures.html .

Re: Ask HN: Shorting BTC

#3

Post by sigmaprimus » Mon, May 10, 2021, 12:59 PM UTC

BETAPRO inverse bitcoin ETF (BITO.TO) TSX

You might as well just go to the casino instead, your not going to get rich hedging crypto. Or buy CAD, buying USD tether against BTC won't work as they are both sliding.

Re: Ask HN: Shorting BTC

#4

Post by SecureSwap » Mon, May 10, 2021, 1:13 PM UTC

It's probably best to use an inverse BTC ETF. You can also use futures or options.

For a longer position you can short BTC/USDT perpetual futures using a margin account (Binance, FTX...)

For a little more involved position with a more secure counterparty you can short BTC/USD futures on the CME, you'll have to keep the contract expiration in mind though

The CME also offers options on futures contracts but there's barely any volume: https://www.cmegroup.com/trading/equity-index/us-index/bitco...

The simplest approaches would be an inverse ETF or a perpetual short position (only available on crypto exchanges afaik)

Re: Ask HN: Shorting BTC

#5

Post by rvz » Mon, May 10, 2021, 1:18 PM UTC

You might as well short Zoom (ZM) right now.

Re: Ask HN: Shorting BTC

#6

Post by alwillis » Tue, May 11, 2021, 3:22 AM UTC

I’m the US, you can buy Bitcoin options and futures on LedgerX: https://www.ledgerx.com/.

Elsewhere you can use Deribit: https://www.deribit.com/

Be careful—Deribit allows 100x leverage.