
The ongoing legal battle between the Binance cryptocurrency exchange and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) took a surprising turn on September 18.
Judge Zia M. Faruqui denied the SEC’s request to access the Binance.US system. Instead, the federal judge recommended that the SEC develop a specific discovery request.
While the decision only temporarily delayed Binance’s need to demonstrate the separation of Binance.US custody solutions from Binance International, the market reaction was positive.
Bitcoin (BTC) surged to its highest level in three weeks, breaking the $27,000 resistance. Traders are now wondering whether this rally is underpinned by leverage or genuine spot buying demand.
This is where indicators related to Bitcoin derivatives may provide a solution.
Investors must wait three weeks for further ruling
According to Yahoo Finance, Judge Farooqui scheduled a follow-up hearing on October 12 and called on all parties involved to submit a status report before the event. This appears to be a setback for the SEC, at least for now, but could increase risks for Binance.
Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao “CZ” remains adamant that Binance US has never used Binance International’s custody solution, despite a document published by Binance US on September 15 suggesting otherwise. Still, the SEC has yet to provide clear evidence that Binance attempted to mislead the court.
Regardless of the current evidence, or, more precisely, whether Binance is providing reliable information, the outlook for Bitcoin bulls has improved significantly over the next three weeks, with no expected changes ahead of the upcoming court hearing. Variety.
To gauge the growing optimism among professional traders, let’s take a look at Bitcoin’s margin and derivatives indicators.
Bitcoin margin, options show clear path to $28,000
Margin markets provide valuable insights into the positioning of professional traders as they enable investors to increase their risk exposure through stablecoin lending.
Conversely, Bitcoin borrowers can speculate on the cryptocurrency’s price decline. A falling indicator indicates that bullish sentiment among traders is waning, while a ratio above 30 usually indicates overconfidence.

Latest data shows that OKX traders’ margin borrowing ratio has fallen to a three-month low of 19x, down from 27x a week ago. These findings suggest that the overwhelming dominance of leveraged long positions has weakened, although current ratios still favor bulls.
Market sentiment can also be assessed by analyzing whether there is more activity on call (buy) options or put (sell) options.
The put to call ratio of 0.70 indicates that put open interest lags behind the more bullish calls, suggesting bullish momentum. Conversely, the indicator at 1.40 favors puts, indicating bearish sentiment.

The put-to-call ratio of Bitcoin options trading volume recently shifted from 1.50 in favor of puts to an equilibrium level of 1.04 on September 20, indicating a decrease in interest in protective puts.
Notably, BTC options volume has been either neutral or slightly skewed towards puts since September 18, suggesting professional traders were caught off guard by a price increase above $27,000.
Related: Binance CEO refutes reports of $250M loan to BAM Management
Both the Bitcoin margin and options markets show a balance of demand between long and short positions. From a bullish perspective, this suggests that Bitcoin price was not over-levered as it climbed from $26,500 to $27,500 on September 19.
However, bears may take comfort in the fact that even as Bitcoin prices hit their highest levels in three weeks, enthusiasm from buyers in the margin and options markets remains limited.
Still, the data did hint at buying support from spot orders, which could indicate accumulation by large entities or so-called whales regardless of price.
Now, BTC and other cryptocurrency bulls have a three-week window until October 12 before a federal judge will hold another hearing and potentially issue an order that could challenge Binance.US. Meanwhile, Bitcoin price is sure to rise above $28,000.
This article is for general information purposes only and is not intended to be, and should not be construed as, legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.
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