Deribit's $18 Billion Options Expiry Looms as Bitcoin Price Reaches New Heights
More than $18 billion in Bitcoin and Ethereum options will expire on Friday, according to Coinbase. This is part of Deribit's quarterly expiry cycles, with the last day of March, June, September, and December being key dates. The platform handles around 85% of Bitcoin and Ethereum options.
The put/call ratio for BTC options volume is 0.37, indicating a substantial tilt toward calls rather than puts. This is not surprising given the recent price increase in Bitcoin. In the past few days, the flagship cryptocurrency rose 5.93% on Friday, crossed $80,000 and closed at $80,875. It rose 0.44% on Saturday before marginally declining to $81,159 on Sunday.
The key levels around which Bitcoin call open interest is concentrated are $90,000 and $100,000. However, this does not mean that BTC will reach either level before expiry. Open interest does not reveal if individual traders bought or sold the call, and many positions are part of larger spreads, hedges, and market-making strategies.