Deribit: $8.8B of BTC & ETH Options Expire Friday — BTC max pain $75k, ETH $2.2k
Deribit reports about $8.8 billion (nominal) of Bitcoin and Ethereum options expire this Friday, up from earlier reports that cited $2.5B–$2.9B. Bitcoin accounts for roughly $7.8B of the notional value with a put/call ratio near 0.76 and a maximum-pain level around $75,000. Open interest is concentrated in large strike clusters that favour calls, notably in the $80k–$90k zone in prior reporting but shifted toward strikes centered on ~$75k in the latest data. Ethereum options total about $961 million notional with a put/call ratio ~0.77 and max pain near $2,200; ETH open interest clusters around mid-$2,000 strikes with calls dominating above spot and puts notable below. Analysts note rising demand for protection and repricing of volatility ahead of expiry; the event may trigger short-term delta-hedging flows from market makers that could amplify price moves around the max-pain levels. Traders should watch expiry flows, strike concentration, and delta-hedging activity for potential spikes in intraday volatility and transient directional pressure. This is market information only, not investment advice.
Neutral
Large expiring option notional — dominated by BTC — increases the potential for short-term volatility due to concentrated strike clusters and delta-hedging by market makers. The reported dominance of calls (put/call ratios ~0.76–0.77) and max-pain levels (BTC $75k, ETH $2.2k) imply expiry-related flows could exert directional pressure toward those strikes, producing transient moves. However, such effects are typically short-lived around expiries: after settlement the gravitational effect of large strike clusters often weakens, reducing sustained directional bias. Therefore, the expected impact is neutral overall: elevated intraday risk and potential spikes in volatility (short-term trading opportunities and risks), but no clear long-term bullish or bearish signal solely from the expiry data. Traders should manage position sizing, watch delta-hedge flows and liquidity, and monitor whether follow-through volume confirms any directional move.