Bitcoin fell below $72,000 and Ethereum struggled to stay around $2,000 this week, drawing attention to the options market. Approximately $2.67 billion in Bitcoin and Ethereum options on Deribit will expire tomorrow at 11:00 AM Turkish time.
Charts ahead of expiry show a marked difference between the two cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin has more call options, while Ethereum has more put options. For both assets, the “max pain” level, which represents the minimum total payout to option holders, is above today’s index price.
33,000 Bitcoin Contracts Near Expiry
Investin’s chart for today, based on Deribit data, shows 22,127 Bitcoin call options and 11,119 put options open for expiry tomorrow. The combined nominal value of the 33,246 contracts is estimated at approximately $2.37 billion. The Bitcoin index is currently at $71,353.
The put/call ratio, or the ratio of put options to call options, is 0.50 for this expiry. That means there are approximately two call options for every put option. The ratio reflects the distribution of contracts still open ahead of expiry. Call and put options can also feature in hedging strategies in which investors combine multiple contracts.
Bitcoin’s maximum pain level is calculated at $76,000, approximately 6.5% above the index price shown on the same chart. After today’s sell-off, the gap has widened to more than $4,600.
Related News: Altcoin Whales Have Been Very Active in Recent Hours: Here Are the Trades They’ve MadeEthereum Put Options Lead, With $2,000 in Focus
The 148,741 Ethereum contracts expiring tomorrow have an estimated nominal value of approximately $297.6 million. Of these, 89,498 are put options and 59,243 are call options. The put/call ratio is 1.51, meaning that for every 100 open call options, there are approximately 151 open put options.
Ethereum’s maximum price is $2,200. Today’s chart puts the $ETH index at $2,001, a difference of approximately 10% between the two levels.
Another notable level for prices near expiry is $2,000. Optionly’s weekly expiry chart, which combines data from Deribit and Derive, shows approximately 49,000 $ETH in put options at this strike. If the settlement price stays below $2,000, these put options gain payout value. If it stays above that level, the contracts expire worthless.
Hours to Watch for a Potential Compromise: 10:30 to 11:00
Deribit sets the settlement price at expiry using the time-weighted average of index values from 10:30 to 11:00 Turkish time. As a result, price movements during the final half hour are included in the payment calculation.
*This is not investment advice.
