Bitcoin, Ethereum face $8.8B options expiry today as BTC drifts below $90,000

Roughly $8.8 billion worth of Bitcoin and Ethereum options expire today, January 30, 2026, increasing short-term price sensitivity and putting renewed focus on Bitcoin’s failure so far to reclaim the $90,000 level. The bulk of the exposure sits in Bitcoin options, about $7.54 billion in notional value, while Ethereum options account for roughly $1.2 billion.

Bitcoin is trading at $82,761, well below its $90,000 max pain level; call open interest stands at 61,437 contracts versus 29,648 puts, leaving total Bitcoin open interest at 91,085 contracts and a put-to-call ratio of 0.48. Deribit analysts said demand for downside protection has risen sharply, noting that "demand for downside protection has ramped up, showing that traders are cautious even as positioning is still skewed bullish." They warned the options expiry could amplify moves around key levels, as prices often gravitate toward max pain zones as expiry nears.

Ethereum shows a somewhat more balanced setup: ETH is trading at $2,751, below a $3,000 max pain level. Total open interest in Ethereum options is 439,192 contracts, with 257,721 calls and 181,471 puts, producing a put-to-call ratio of 0.70 that signals two-sided positioning but continued caution.

bitcoin options expiry, ethereum options expiry, deribit analysts, put-to-call ratio bitcoin, put-to-call ratio ethereum, max pain level bitcoin, max pain level ethereum, implied volatility crypto, downside protection demand, open interest bitcoin, open interest ethereum, january 30 2026 expiry, liquidity risks crypto