Bitcoin and Ether are heading toward a combined quarterly options expiry worth nearly $18 billion, with the settlement potentially changing dealer hedging flows and increasing short-term market volatility.
Around $15.9 billion in Bitcoin options and another $2.1 billion in Ether options are scheduled to expire at 8:00 UTC on Friday, according to Deribit CEO Luuk Strijers. Bitcoin was trading near $84,277, while Ether stood around $2,663.
The Bitcoin contracts alone account for about 37% of Deribit’s total BTC open interest, which was approximately $43.5 billion. Open interest represents the value of outstanding options positions, with each contract tied to one Bitcoin or one Ether.
Strijers said the Sept. 25 quarterly settlement is among Deribit’s largest expiries of the year. Bitcoin’s September options are tilted toward calls, with a put/call open-interest ratio of 0.69, reflecting positioning that was largely established around expectations for higher prices.
Call options give buyers the right, but not the obligation, to purchase an asset at a predetermined strike price by expiration. Traders typically buy calls when they expect the underlying asset to rise.
Puts provide the opposite exposure and can be used to position for a decline or hedge an existing position.
The crypto options market has expanded significantly since 2020. Traders now routinely combine options with spot and futures positions to express views on price direction, volatility and the passage of time, making large quarterly expiries important market events.
$75K Emerges as Bitcoin’s Max-Pain Level
Traders are also monitoring Bitcoin’s max-pain price, the level at which option holders would collectively experience the largest losses at expiration. The concept is disputed, and there is no guarantee that prices will move toward the level.
For Friday’s expiry, Bitcoin’s max-pain level is around $75,000, well below its current spot price of roughly $85,500. Deribit has described the level as a potential “soft magnet” heading into settlement.
The largest concentration of open interest sits at the $70,000 strike. Calls at that level are already deep in the money given Bitcoin’s current price.
Strijers said approximately 55% of the $9.4 billion in Bitcoin calls expiring Friday are currently in the money. Most puts have little or no value at current prices, leaving roughly one-third of the entire $15.9 billion Bitcoin options book in the money.
For calls, an option is in the money when the underlying asset trades above the strike. For puts, it is in the money when the underlying trades below the strike.
Deribit Chief Commercial Officer Jean-David Péquignot said the distribution of open interest across strikes points to potential support around $75,000.
He highlighted substantial call positions at $85,000, $90,000, $95,000 and $100,000, including large call-condor structures that are becoming increasingly relevant as Bitcoin trades near $86,000.
Put positions are concentrated lower, particularly around $60,000, $70,000 and $75,000, forming what Péquignot described as a layered support area.
Dealer Hedging Could Shift After Settlement
The Friday expiry could bring greater price swings as a large volume of options contracts disappear and associated hedging positions are unwound.
Strijers said dealer hedging may have helped Bitcoin advance through the $80,000-$87,000 range. Dealers holding short call exposure generally need to buy Bitcoin as prices rise to maintain their hedges, potentially adding momentum to an existing rally.
That dynamic can change once the options expire. With the associated gamma and hedging activity removed after settlement, the price-pinning effect may weaken and short-term volatility could increase.
The resulting flows could also contribute to a reset of Bitcoin’s recent trading range.
Beyond the settlement itself, traders will be watching Bitcoin’s behavior around $85,000 and tracking how current positions are rolled into October and December expiries. A rollover involves closing or offsetting an existing options position while simultaneously opening a similar position with a later expiration.
