Options Traders Pile Into DeFi Technologies Calls as Stock Plunges Despite Record Profit

Despite a record $62.7M profit and strong Q1 beat, DeFi Technologies stock trades near 12-month low; options volume surges 209% as traders bet on reversal.

A strange pattern is emerging around DeFi Technologies. The Nasdaq-listed crypto finance firm just posted a record net profit of $62.7 million for the 2025 fiscal year, and a blowout first quarter that beat analyst expectations on both revenue and earnings. Yet its stock is trading at €0.3778, barely six percent above a fresh 12-month low. The disconnect between operational strength and market sentiment has become so extreme that options traders are now betting heavily in the opposite direction of the prevailing downtrend.

On Friday, 4,365 call option contracts changed hands — roughly 209 percent more than the average daily volume. The trigger appears to be the company’s Q1 2026 numbers: earnings per share of $0.01, where analysts had expected a loss of $0.01, and revenue of $11.19 million against a consensus estimate of $10.68 million. The bullish options activity suggests that a subset of traders is positioning for a technical bounce, even as the underlying stock continues to slide.

Fundamentals Tell a Different Story

DeFi Technologies generated $99.1 million in revenue for the 2025 fiscal year, with a net profit of $62.7 million. The average assets under management across its Valour ETP product suite stood at $809.9 million. The first quarter of the current fiscal year built on that momentum: $11.2 million in revenue, $4.9 million in net profit, and roughly $156 million in cash, stablecoins, digital assets and venture investments. Working capital swung from negative $5.1 million at the end of 2025 to positive $47.3 million. The balance sheet has rarely looked healthier.

Analysts have largely remained constructive. Several houses rate the stock a "Buy", while one has a "Hold" rating, with an average price target of $2.00 — more than five times the current level. Institutional investors have taken notice too: Marex Group increased its stake in the fourth quarter, and Aristides Capital entered as a new investor during the same period.

Stock Continues to Sink

None of that has arrested the share price decline. The stock closed at €0.3778 on Friday, a gain of just 1.02 percent on the day after touching a new 12-month low of €0.3532. Over 30 days, the stock has lost nearly 27 percent. Year-to-date the decline stands at 41.79 percent. From its 52-week high of €2.83 — reached last July — the stock has cratered over 86 percent. The relative strength index sits at 30.3, a level that typically signals oversold conditions and attracts bargain hunters, but so far the selling hasn't abated.

Nasdaq Compliance and the Reverse Split Vote

The slide has brought the company dangerously close to a regulatory deadline. On March 5, 2026, Nasdaq notified DeFi Technologies that its closing price had been below $1 for 30 consecutive trading days, triggering the exchange's minimum bid price rule. The company has until September 1, 2026, to regain compliance.

On the Q1 earnings call, CEO Johan Oliviera attempted to reassure investors. He said there was "no immediate risk, and no reverse split" on the table, calling delisting rumors "absolutely not true." But he also left the door open, acknowledging that if necessary, a reverse split would be executed — just not prematurely.

Shareholders had already spoken on the matter. At the annual meeting on July 7, 73.271 percent of votes cast in favor of a reverse split proposal. The company justified the move as a requirement for maintaining its Nasdaq listing. The vote itself, however, predates the CEO's recent comments, creating a confusing signal for the market.

Macro Headwinds Add to the Pressure

The stock's struggles are not happening in a vacuum. The broader crypto market came under selling pressure on Friday, with Bitcoin falling 1.2 percent and Ether dropping 1.74 percent. The sell-off was triggered by weakness in semiconductor stocks across Asia and North America, coupled with renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Total crypto market capitalisation shrank 1.86 percent to $2.16 trillion.

Because DeFi Technologies’ revenue is almost entirely tied to assets under management and trading volumes — both of which move in lockstep with crypto prices — any broad sell-off in digital assets weighs on sentiment around the stock, even if the company's own fundamentals remain intact.

A Contrarian Signal?

The options activity may reflect a gamble on a short-term technical rebound. The average RSI across all crypto pairs has fallen to 42.23, close to the oversold zone that triggered a recovery rally in July. Whether that can arrest DeFi Technologies’ own downtrend remains an open question. The Nasdaq compliance clock is ticking toward September 1, and any recovery attempt in the stock will be shadowed by that deadline. For now, the market is pricing in pessimism that the company's record profits have done nothing to dispel.