Over $2.2B of Bitcoin and Ethereum options expire, pinning prices near max pain

Beincrypto reports Bitcoin and Ethereum were trading tightly around key options “max pain” levels as more than $2.2 billion of BTC and ETH options were set to expire on Deribit at 8:00 UTC. At the time of the report, Bitcoin was near $90,985, almost exactly aligned with a $90,000 max pain level, while Ethereum traded around $3,113, just above its $3,100 max pain.

The expiry comprises roughly $1.89 billion in BTC options and $396 million in ETH options. Bitcoin’s call open interest stood at 10,105 contracts versus 10,633 puts (put-to-call ratio 1.05), while ETH showed 67,872 calls versus 59,297 puts (put-to-call ratio 0.87), a symmetry in BTC and an upside concentration in ETH that Deribit analysts said: "ETH call positioning is concentrated above $3,000.

If spot holds above max pain, post expiry positioning may leave dealers more reactive to upside continuation." Analyst Kyle Doops added, "Volatility likely compresses into expiry. Direction usually shows up after." Macro risk layers include the US December employment report due at 8:30 a.m.

Key Topics

Crypto, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Deribit, Nonfarm Payrolls, Trump Tariffs