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Bitcoin Nears $80,000 Ahead of $6.4 Billion Options Expiration

On Deribit, $6.44 billion in BTC options expire on Friday, with a lot of open interest around $75,000 and $80,000. Bitcoin’s sharp rally makes gamma hedging and volatility especially relevant.

By Zenz van der Wielen
• 2 min read
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Bitcoin Nears $80,000 Ahead of $6.4 Billion Options Expiration

Key Takeaways

  • About $6.44 billion in Bitcoin options expire on Deribit on Friday.
  • A total of 81,700 contracts are expiring, with more calls than puts and a put-to-call ratio of 0.83.
  • Bitcoin’s price climbed to nearly $80,000, which could make hedging and extra volatility around $75,000 and $80,000 possible.

Bitcoin is back in the spotlight as about $6.44 billion (€5.5 billion) in options expires on crypto exchange Deribit on Friday. The expiration comes after a sharp price jump to nearly $80,000 (€68,600) and could make trading around key strike prices more volatile.

Big Expiration on Deribit

According to Deribit Metrics, a total of 81,700 Bitcoin option contracts expire Friday at 08:00 UTC. Each contract represents 1 BTC. Of those, 44,639 are calls and 37,061 are puts, for a put-to-call ratio of 0.83. That points to a mostly bullish position in the market.

The biggest open interest on the call side is at the $75,000 (€64,300) strike, with a notional value of $236 million (€202 million). That is followed by the $80,000 (€68,600) strike with $157 million (€135 million). Those levels matter because the spot price has been close to them over the past few days.

Price Jump Puts Hedging in Focus

Bitcoin has recently been trading around $78,932.95 (€67,700) and has climbed in a short time from about $62,000 (€53,200) to $80,000 (€68,600). That move has pushed many call options into the money, giving market makers more exposure to hedge. Deribit’s chief risk officer Shaun Fernando called the expiration an interesting one to watch.

Fernando said nearly 20% of open interest on Deribit expires Friday. He also pointed to a shift in the volatility structure, a rise in the bitcoin volatility index, and a reversal in the call-put skew. According to him, there is more than half a billion dollars in notional value within 5% of the current price, which could lead to extra gamma hedging ahead of the expiration.

The recent rally has also lifted sentiment in the market, with traders once again betting more aggressively on further gains. That fits the broader move, where Bitcoin traders bet $2.9 million on a rise above $82,000 had already been looking for higher strikes earlier.

Why This Matters for European Trading

For European crypto traders, this matters mainly because large options expirations can concentrate liquidity around a few clear levels. That can temporarily keep the price closer to $75,000 (€64,300) or $80,000 (€68,600), or it can lead to faster moves if Bitcoin breaks through those levels convincingly. Expirations like this also give a good read on how professional capital is positioning itself in the crypto market around BTC.

Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, legal, or tax advice. The information provided may be incomplete, inaccurate, or outdated and should not be relied upon as such. Nothing on this website should be considered a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any cryptocurrency. Investing in crypto-assets involves risk of loss.