The largest monthly crypto options expiry in weeks landed on Friday with around 85,500 Bitcoin contracts and 650,000 Ethereum contracts set to expire — a combined notional value of roughly $7.6 billion. The event hit as markets were already in freefall: roughly $120 billion had exited the space over the prior week, pushed by a US military escalation in the Middle East that sent investors scrambling for the exits.
Bitcoin's max pain at $75,000
The Bitcoin options put/call ratio sits at 0.85, meaning sellers of longs and shorts are about evenly matched. Max pain — the price where the most options expire worthless — is around $75,000. Open interest is heaviest at the $80,000 strike on Deribit, with $1.7 billion riding on that level. Short sellers have stacked $1.2 billion in open interest at the $60,000 strike. Total Bitcoin options open interest across all exchanges stands at $37.5 billion.
Bitcoin briefly fell below $73,000 twice on Thursday before recovering to that level by Friday's expiry. It's still deep in the red for the week. Implied volatility hasn't spiked despite the drop, a sign that options markets aren't panicking — yet. Greeks Live said today's expiry looks likely to “significantly alter the current options position structure.”
Ethereum still in bear territory
Ethereum's expiry was smaller in dollar terms but still substantial: around 650,000 contracts worth $1.3 billion. Max pain is at $2,200, with a put/call ratio of 0.77. Total Ethereum open interest across exchanges is about $6.9 billion. ETH reclaimed $2,000 after sliding below it, but the asset remains very weak and is trading in bear market territory.
The broader crypto market cap dipped to $2.55 trillion on Friday — its lowest level since April 13.
Why the timing matters
Friday's expiry comes as US inflation data showed prices rising at the fastest pace in three years in April, according to the PCE report. That news, paired with the Middle East escalation, has crushed risk appetite. The combined options expiry of $7.6 billion is the largest such event for many weeks, and the reset could set the stage for fresh positioning — or more pain if the macro picture doesn't improve.
With Bitcoin hovering near $73,000 and Ethereum clinging to $2,000, the next few days will show whether the expiry clears the air or just clears the way for another leg down.
