Around 23,000 Bitcoin options contracts will expire with an approximate face value of $640 million. The maximum pain point for Bitcoin options today is $28,000. Around 210,000 Ethereum contracts will also expire today with a face value of $320 million.
Bitcoin markets have already started moving, but will today’s big BTC options expiry lift them? Nearly a billion dollars in cryptocurrency derivatives are about to expire, and perhaps the markets will spring into action.
On October 20, around 23,000 Bitcoin options contracts with a face value of around $640 million will expire. Additionally, this Friday’s expiration is roughly the same as last week’s event, the difference is that BTC prices are already moving.
Bitcoin Options Expiration Day
The put/call ratio for current Bitcoin options is 0.82, which means there are slightly more sellers of long contracts than short ones. Furthermore, the maximum pain point for the current batch of Bitcoin options is $28,000, around a thousand dollars less than the current BTC spot prices. The maximum pain price is the level with the most open contracts and the level where the most losses occur when the contracts expire.
Bitcoin continues to lead the market, said Greeks Live, commenting on today’s expiration. He highlighted that “the proportion of BTC put options is significantly lower and market sentiment has improved significantly.” Greeks Live turned to X to explain this in the following terms:
“Oct 20 Options Data
23,000 BTC options are about to expire with a Put Call Ratio of 0.82, a max pain point of $28,000 and a notional value of $640 million.
210,000 ETH options are about to expire with a Put Call Ratio of 0.84, a max pain point of $1,600 and a notional value of $320 million.
BTC continues to lead the market, with the notional value of options positions this week unchanged from last week, but the Put share of BTC options is significantly lower, and market sentiment has turned significantly better. Especially in the last two days, the options market picked up significantly as giant whales started to add to their forward call positions.”
Greeks Live also noted that the implied volatility of all major terms still remains at historically low levels. This situation has lasted for a quarter, “and after such a long bear market, a big market could be around the corner.”
Ethereum Contract Expiration
Around 210,000 Ethereum contracts will also expire today with a face value of $320 million. Furthermore, these derivatives have a maximum critical point of $1,600 and a put/call ratio of 0.84. Ethereum contract trading has been lackluster in recent months due to stagnant spot markets.
However, the same cannot be said for Bitcoin, which surpassed $29,000 during the Asian trading session on Friday morning.
BTC is currently trading up 3.2% on the day at $29,228. Momentum is building as the asset has gained an impressive 9% in the last seven days. The current Bitcoin market trend has notable similarities to the price movement of 2017-2020. According to Stockmoney Lizards analyst, this could lead to a key breakout moment, similar to the green area on the chart, and a decisive bull market.
Ethereum has risen only 2%, taking it to $1,584, still well within bearish territory. Additionally, some of the altcoins are also posting impressive gains, with XRP up 6% and Solana (SOL) up 11%.
By Leonardo Pérez
