Crypto Friday : $8B Options Expiry Rattles Traders

The apparent calm of the crypto market could well shatter. At stake : over 8 billion dollars in Bitcoin and Ethereum options expired this Friday, one of the largest volumes of the year. With each expiry, volatility lurks. However, this time, the gaps between current prices and pain points could cause unexpected twists. In a climate of macroeconomic hesitation, this massive expiration could well precipitate a new underlying movement.

A Colossal Expiry Under Surveillance

This Friday marked the expiration of 77,642 Bitcoin options contracts, representing a notional value of 7.24 billion dollars. On the Ethereum side, 458,926 options, or 808.3 million dollars, expired.

These figures establish one of the largest expiration volumes of the year. The element to watch is the positioning of current prices relative to the maximum pain points (max pain price). These indicators help estimate the zone where losses for options holders are highest.

Here are the key figures of this expiry :

• The number of options that expired : 77,642 for Bitcoin and 458,926 for Ethereum ;
• The notional value : 7.24 billion dollars for Bitcoin and 808.3 million dollars for Ethereum ;
• The put-to-call ratio : 0.73 for BTC and 0.74 for ETH ;
• The maximum pain point : 86,000 dollars for Bitcoin and 1,900 dollars for Ethereum ;
• The current price : 94,544.85 dollars for BTC and 1,773.38 dollars for ETH.

The situation is mixed. Indeed, Bitcoin is currently trading above its pain point, suggesting that many contracts could be exercised profitably. This situation would thus increase pressure on the market. Conversely, Ethereum is trading below its critical threshold, which reduces the influence of its options on immediate movements.

This asymmetry between the two assets could introduce performance gaps in the coming days and influence traders’ behavior, especially those engaged in inter-market strategies.

Traders’ Bullish Bets and Their Time Horizon

Beyond the immediate impact of this expiry on prices, longer-term open positions provide valuable insight into investors’ expectations. A clear trend emerges: many traders continue to sell cash-covered options, a typical strategy of a bullish crypto market, while targeting high price levels on more distant expirations.

Call options with a strike at 110,000 dollars for BTC are thus actively traded for an expiration scheduled for mid-2025. This illustrates lasting confidence in market progress, despite a more uncertain short-term situation.

Such positioning fits into a dynamic where participants seem to bet on a post-expiry volatility lull. Thus, this massive volume could absorb some of the speculative pressure, at least temporarily.

Open interest on upcoming option series, combined with positions taken at increasingly higher levels, confirms an optimistic view, at least on the derivatives markets. This interpretation should of course be tempered by the reaction of spot markets in the hours and days following this technical expiry.

In the short term, price behavior around pain points could cause frictions, even erratic movements. However, in the medium term, it is the long positions on options and hedging strategies put in place that will set the tempo. The coexistence of structural optimism and situational volatility creates a two-speed situation where crypto traders must operate between tactical caution and strategic conviction.