Following massive gains and then a sudden correction, there has been much speculation about how bitcoin will perform in 2018. However, one investor is putting his money where is mouth is by purchasing options worth almost $1 million.

The options contracts bought on the LedgerX exchange are \"calls\", which give the investor the right to pay $50,000 in late 2018 to buy units of bitcoin. The Wall Street Journal reports that the trade, which was the first of its kind on the LedgerX exchange, took place during the 14 hour trading period which ended 16:00 EST on Wednesday 20th December. However, using the available data, it is impossible to know who the buyer was, or if the options were purchased in a single transaction, or multiple transactions.

How successful this trade has been will not be known until December 28th, 2018. If the price of bitcoin is below $50,000 at this time, the options will expire and the $1 million will be forfeited for no gain. On the other hand, if bitcoin is above that level, the investor will have the right to buy 275 bitcoins at a price of $50,000 each, at a cost of $13.8 million, which they could potentially sell for a considerable profit.