Today, about $2.09 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) options expire. This is because the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes and the digital asset summit took place on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
The expiration date could change the market, and investors are keeping an eye out for any changes that might happen.
$2 Billion Worth Of Options Ending Today
Deribit says that options worth $1.826 billion in Bitcoin expire today. The maximum pain point is $85,000, where most options expire worthless.
These options comprise 21,596 contracts, somewhat less than the 35,176 last week. The put-to-call ratio of 0.83 shows a generally bullish sentiment even with recent volatility.
Ethereum has 133,447 contracts with options worth $264.46 million that expire today. This figure is also lower than the 223,395 contracts signed the previous week. These options have a maximum pain point of $2,000, and the put-to-call ratio is 0.62.
As the options contracts get closer to their expiration time at 8:00 UTC today, the prices of Bitcoin and Ethereum are likely to get close to their worst points. According to the data, BTC traded for $84,414 while ETH traded for $1,977.
This means that Bitcoin and Ethereum could go up a little more, up to the $85,000 and $2,000 strike prices, respectively. Based on the smart money’s strategy for trading options, which is to push prices toward the “max pain” level, this rise makes sense. In this scenario, the majority of contracts, including calls and puts, expire worthless.
“Will there be a squeeze on volatility or a slow decline?” Deribit posed in a post on X (Twitter).
The put-to-call ratios for both Bitcoin and Ethereum are below 1. This implies that call options, or purchases, are more common than put options, or sales.
What Traders Feel About the Market Before Options Close
Analysts from the crypto options trading tool “Greeks.live” talked about how the market is feeling right now, showing that traders have different opinions. Some people think that the price will go down after the FOMC meeting because policymakers said they wouldn’t cut interest rates any further, which would be bad for the crypto market.
On the other hand, some people think there will be a short rise before things get rough. Analysts think that the price of Bitcoin could stay between $83,000 and $85,000, but there will likely be some price volatility (price movement). This is especially because of news related to President Trump and possible purchases by MicroStrategy (now Strategy).
Though the current pump is not considered sustainable, expect chop (price ups and downs) and drift lower before rising again on Monday, “Greeks.live” analysts noted.
Furthermore, a known crypto news website said that Gracy Chen, CEO of the Bitget exchange, is sure that BTC will stay above $73,000 to $78,000, which could lead to a rally to $200,000. She is hopeful because the US strategic Bitcoin reserve could help with long-term price stability and institutional legitimacy.
Bitget’s Chen is still positive, but traders and investors should be ready for short-term changes. In the past, when options expired, prices tended to change for a short time. But the market usually settles down soon after.
To handle possible volatility well, this means being alert and looking at technical indicators and market sentiment.
