Bitcoin & Ethereum Options Expiry Turns Cautiously Bullish

Published: 2026-04-10 08:31:42 |

Bitcoin & Ethereum options expiry arrives with more than $2.2B in notional value, and derivatives positioning is skewing cautiously bullish as traders digest the move. For Bitcoin (BTC), about 26,700 BTC options contracts expire. The weekly put/call ratio is 0.71 (more call demand than puts). “Max pain” is near $69,000, while open interest is heaviest around the $80,000 strike (~$1.6B on Deribit). After the latest quarterly settlement, total BTC options open interest across exchanges has fallen to about $34B. Positioning shifted as BTC reclaimed above $70,000: traders added short-dated calls and rolled/sold downside exposure to higher strikes. Greeks.live said the rebound mainly eased tail-risk concerns rather than signaling a guaranteed sustained upside trend. For Ethereum (ETH), about 151,500 ETH contracts expire. The put/call ratio is 0.77 and max pain sits around $2,050. Total ETH options open interest is near $6.6B. CryptoQuant analyst “Darkfost” added a constructive signal: Binance perpetuals’ taker buy/sell ratio returned above 1 for multiple consecutive days (seen last in 2023), suggesting buyers are gradually gaining control without the kind of abrupt spike that often increases volatility. Traders may treat this Bitcoin & Ethereum options expiry backdrop as supportive for weekend risk appetite, with a lower probability of sudden derivatives-driven swings—though the “max pain” levels and still-rangebound price action argue against chasing an immediate breakout.

Bullish

This Bitcoin & Ethereum options expiry event shows put/call ratios below 1 for both BTC (0.71) and ETH (0.77), implying derivatives demand is more aligned with upside participation than broad downside hedging. For BTC, max pain near $69,000 and call-focused positioning after reclaiming $70,000 suggest downside pressure is being rolled/contained rather than intensifying. For ETH, max pain around $2,050 plus Binance perpetuals taker buy/sell staying above 1 points to gradual buyer control. With options expiry reportedly passing without major disruption, the near-term setup is supportive for risk appetite into the weekend. However, concentrated open interest around specific strikes (BTC ~$80k) and the note that the rebound mainly reduced tail-risk—not guaranteed a sustained rally—keeps the bullish read cautious rather than aggressive.