Options Buyers Pick BitMine Over MicroStrategy

Options traders bought calls on BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) while remaining cautious on MicroStrategy (MSTR), according to options activity through June 15.

BitMine’s options showed a bullish tilt by volume and open interest. As of June 15, BMNR’s volume put-call ratio was 0.23 and the open interest put-call ratio was 0.35. At the start of June those ratios were 0.60 and 0.37.

MicroStrategy’s flow was more mixed. MSTR’s volume put-call ratio fell to about 0.61 from 0.93 a month earlier, while its open interest put-call ratio sat near 0.94, leaving the outstanding options book slightly heavier in puts.

Implied volatility differed sharply. BitMine’s implied volatility was in the 4th percentile of its one-year range, putting BMNR options near their lowest annual prices. MicroStrategy’s implied volatility was around the 65th percentile, making MSTR options relatively pricier.

Valuation and balance-sheet data show contrasts. MicroStrategy traded at about 0.82 times mNAV, while BitMine traded near 0.97 times the value of its Ether holdings. MicroStrategy carried roughly $8.2 billion of debt; BitMine reported no debt. When debt is adjusted out of the calculation, both firms traded near 0.96–0.97 times their treasuries.

MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin position had an average cost basis near $75,527 per coin, with Bitcoin around $66,552 at the time of the data. BitMine stakes most of its Ether and reported a staking yield of about 2.9%.

On-chain indicators showed smart-money wallets net short MicroStrategy by about $4.2 million. Those wallets held roughly $713,000 in longs and about $4.95 million in shorts, a long-to-short ratio near 0.14. Comparable smart-money data for BitMine was not available.

Short-term linkages between the stocks and their coins were weak. BitMine’s beta to Ether was about 0.06 and MicroStrategy’s beta to Bitcoin about 0.07; daily correlations between each stock and its respective coin were near 0.03.

Institutional flow metrics were negative for both names. Chaikin Money Flow readings were about -0.09 for MicroStrategy and -0.11 for BitMine, a measure that reflects more selling than buying pressure from institutional investors.

Through June 15 the options market displayed heavier call activity in BitMine and more cautious positioning in MicroStrategy, alongside the valuation, on-chain and flow metrics described above.