Market Anticipation Grows Ahead of $2.7 Billion Bitcoin Options Expiration Today

As another week closes, Bitcoin and Ether options contracts are set to expire. This Friday, approximately 31,000 Bitcoin options will expire, valued at about $2.7 billion. Despite this significant expiry event, the impact on spot markets seems minimal as they have been gradually declining throughout the week.

Several factors are driving this downward trend, including a crackdown on Bitcoin mining in China, delays in crypto regulation in the U.S., and anxieties over a potential interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan.

Bitcoin Options Expiry

The current slate of Bitcoin options features a put/call ratio of 0.8, indicating more calls than puts are set to expire. The maximum pain point is situated at $88,000, based on data from Coinglass.

The open interest (OI) for Bitcoin options remains highest at $100,000, representing about $2.3 billion in value on Deribit. There’s still around $2.1 billion worth of open interest at $85,000, a price reached earlier this week. Overall, the total open interest for Bitcoin options across all exchanges is reported as $52.5 billion according to Coinglass.

“BTC open interest is focused around $88K, with a slightly heavier push in puts, suggesting a contained expiry unless spot prices fluctuate significantly,” stated an analyst from Deribit.

🚨 Options Expiry Alert 🚨
At 08:00 UTC tomorrow, around $3.18B in crypto options will expire on Deribit, with $2.72B representing Bitcoin. The total value is alarming yet reflects underlying market volatility.

Aside from Bitcoin, around 155,000 Ethereum contracts are also expiring, with a notional value around $460 million, showcasing a max pain level at $3,100. Total open interest for Ethereum across exchanges has fallen to around $11 billion since late August.

“ETH positioning shows greater distribution across strikes, with substantial interest above $3.4K, creating potential for substantial movement if volatility reignites,” remarked Deribit.

Market Trends

As Friday approaches, total market capitalization has dipped below $3 trillion, its lowest since April. Recently, Bitcoin exhibited a pump-and-dump reaction after the CPI print, experiencing a drop to $84,500 before recovering to $85,000 during the early Asian trading hours, signaling inherent weakness in its structure.

Ethereum’s value has also weakened, dropping briefly below $2,800, while altcoins like XRP, Solana, and Cardano have suffered greater losses exceeding 4% within the day.