ApeCoin's governance and utility token, APE, has experienced a remarkable increase in value, reaching $1.50 over the weekend, which has contributed to a broader market trend upward.

Recent options activity on PowerTrade, an exchange specializing in alternative cryptocurrency derivatives, indicates that traders expect this bullish momentum to continue.

• Open interest for APE options has surged by over 800% to 263,000 contracts (valued at $394.5K) in just one day.
• Call options, which allow bullish bets on the cryptocurrency, make up over 80% of total activity.

Most trading is focused on the contracts expiring on October 22 and October 25, with traders initiating high-stake buys at strike prices near $2.2, which is significantly above the current market price.

This activity is particularly interesting considering APE's market valuation is approximately $1 billion, indicating a growing sophistication among altcoin investors. However, it must be noted that volume and open interest still lag behind Bitcoin and Ethereum options, typically valued in the billions on major exchanges.

The heightened interest in APE options could be linked to the launch of the Apechain mainnet and integration with LayerZero, both of which appear to bolster trader confidence.

PowerTrade offers European-style options settled in USD, where each contract represents one APE token. The platform has successfully registered a record trading volume of $50 million in options for 44 altcoins and is gearing up to introduce options for several more altcoins like EIGEN, APT, ARK, and PYTH.