Approximately $6.44 billion notional value of Bitcoin options will expire on Deribit this Friday. With the current price nearing $80,000, the market is closely watching whether hedging trades before and after the settlement of these contracts will amplify short-term volatility.
The maturity amount is close to one-fifth.
This batch of contracts involves 81,700 Bitcoin options, including 44,600 call options and 37,100 put options, with a put/call ratio of 0.83, indicating an overall bullish positioning.
At spot price, the notional value of these contracts is approximately $6.44 billion, nearing one-fifth of Deribit’s outstanding Bitcoin options, and will settle within the same period.
- Expiration time: Friday, 08:00 UTC
- Contract count: 81,700
- Notional value: $6.44 billion
Holding concentrations at $75,000 and $80,000
Currently, open interest in call options is primarily concentrated at the $75,000 and $80,000 strike prices. The report notes that the notional open interest within a 5% range of the current price has exceeded $500 million.
This means that if Bitcoin continues to trade near these levels, the party selling options typically needs to adjust their risk exposure by buying or selling the underlying asset, and related hedging trades may become more active around expiration.
The market is also watching the "maximum pain" level—the price at which the most contracts expire worthless. Deribit has set the maximum pain for this expiry between $68,000 and $70,000, approximately $9,000 to $11,000 below the current price.
ETF appears in the same week as Jackson Hole
The report notes that notional value does not equate to actual funds inflow or outflow, and many contracts this week are far from the current price, potentially expiring outright without any actual settlement.
Some market participants have noted that option expiration weeks often appear more tense, but the actual impact is not always significant. In previous larger Bitcoin option expirations, the spot price response has also been relatively limited.
However, this expiration coincides closely with other market events. In addition to options settlement, the market is also closely watching this week’s spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF fund flows, as well as policy remarks during the Jackson Hole symposium.
Additional context: The report noted that the open interest in Bitcoin options expiring in September is nearly twice as large, and changes in derivatives positioning will remain an important focus over the coming weeks.