$18 billion crypto options expire Friday, max pain $75,000
About $15.9 billion of Bitcoin options and $2.1 billion of Ether options expire on Deribit on 25 September. Calls dominate, while max pain sits at $75,000.
Crypto derivatives traders have a big date on the calendar. On Friday, 25 September, at 08:00 UTC (1:30 pm IST), quarterly options on Deribit, the largest venue for crypto options, will expire. The contracts cover about $15.9 billion of Bitcoin and $2.1 billion of Ether, a combined notional value of roughly $18 billion, which makes this one of the heaviest expiries of the year.
How traders are positioned
The book leans bullish. The put-call ratio stands at about 0.69, so bets on higher prices (calls) clearly outnumber protective or bearish puts. Calls account for around $9.4 billion of the Bitcoin notional that is due to expire.
Those calls are bunched at the $85,000, $90,000, $95,000 and $100,000 strikes. Put interest is parked lower down, at $60,000, $70,000 and $75,000. The strike with the most open interest of all is $70,000.
The "max pain" level, the price at which the greatest number of options would expire worthless, is $75,000. That is a long way under Bitcoin's current price. Once settled, the expiry will wipe out about 37% of Deribit's Bitcoin open interest, which currently totals close to $43.5 billion.
Deribit's chief executive, Luuk Strijers, called the 25 September settlement one of the largest of the year. Jean-David Péquignot, the exchange's commercial chief, said the way open interest is spread points to a price floor around $75,000.
Why an expiry can move prices
In the run-up to settlement, market makers rebalance the hedges they hold against the options they have sold, and that can push prices around. Once so much open interest vanishes, volatility often behaves differently too. Bitcoin's drop below the $85,000 strike overnight, as US bond yields jumped, has made that level a focal point.
It is worth being clear about what max pain is not. It is not a forecast or a price target. It simply shows where option sellers would come out best, and spot prices regularly ignore it.
The takeaway for India
Most Indian investors own spot crypto rather than options, but big expiries affect liquidity across all order books. Anyone trading derivatives, on an offshore or a domestic platform, should be ready for wider spreads and sharp moves around 1:30 pm IST on Friday. If terms like put-call ratio and max pain are new to you, our explainer on options expiry and max pain covers the basics. For the next weekly, monthly and quarterly dates, see our Bitcoin options expiry calendar.
This article is AI-assisted, educational and general in nature. It is not financial advice and never a guarantee of profit. Every trade is at your own risk on your own exchange. See our risk disclosure and editorial policy.
