Over $2.5 Billion in Cryptocurrency Options Expire This Friday, BTC Max Pain at $82,000

According to Deribit data, over $2.5 billion worth of cryptocurrency options are set to expire this Friday. Among them, Bitcoin options have a notional value of $2.15 billion with a put/call ratio of 1.42 and a max pain point of $82,000; Ethereum options have a notional value of $408 million with a put/call ratio of 1.13 and a max pain point of $2,550.

Data shows that a significant portion of Bitcoin open interest is concentrated in the $80,000 to $90,000 strike price range. The higher put option activity indicates traders are adopting a defensive stance amid market volatility. Ethereum's open interest is mainly clustered around mid-$2,000 strike prices, with strong put option open interest below the spot price and active call option interest on the upside. Analysis suggests that with rising demand for protection and volatility repricing, this expiration could lead to a short-term reset in market maker hedging flows. Post-expiration, the "gravitational pull" associated with large strike price concentrations may weaken, and price action following this expiry could differ from the days leading up to it.