Volatility Ahead? $2.3 Billion in Bitcoin Options, $570 Million in Ethereum Options Expire Soon
2024-12-06

A total of $2.3 billion worth of Bitcoin BTCUSDT options are set to expire today, December 6, 2024, while an additional $570 million worth of Ethereum ETHUSDT options contracts are to expire as well, injecting uncertainty into the cryptocurrency market.
With a combined notional value of nearly $2.87 billion, the expiry of these contracts, representing 23,000 BTC and 147,000 ETH, could trigger increased volatility in the coming days. 
According to analysts from Greeks.live, the put-to-call ratio for Bitcoin options contracts sits at 1.11, suggesting a bias towards put options, which give holders the right but not the obligation to sell BTC at a predetermined price.
The analysts noted that the “maximum pain point” for Bitcoin, the price at which most options contracts would expire worthless, is at $97,000. Ethereum options, they wrote, have a put-to-call ratio of 0.62, with a “maximum pain point” at $3,500.
Bitcoin is, at the time of writing, trading at $98,000 after dropping more than 4.5% over the last 24-hour period amid a wide cryptocurrency market correction that also saw Ethereum’s Ether, the second-largest digital asset by market capitalization, drop nearly 2% to $3,860.
Per the analysts, after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump congratulated the cryptocurrency community over the price of BTC briefly topping the $100,000 mark earlier this week, that took “crypto from geek to mass,” and the recent downward turn “cleared a wave of leverage.”
6 Dec Options Delivery Data
23,000 BTC options expired with a Put Call Ratio of 1.11, a maxpain point of $97,000 and a notional value of $2.3 billion.
147,000 ETH options expired with a Put Call Ratio of 0.62, a maxpain of $3,500 and a notional value of $570 million.
Bitcoin… pic.twitter.com/APzvJ1ohe3
Market sentiment, the analysts added, is currently “very optimistic with solid long forces in the spot bull market.” Moreover, over the past two weeks, option market data has shown market makers — those providing liquidity to the market — are becoming more cautious.
The recent cryptocurrency market downturn has led to a significant increase in the short-term implied volatility of the options market at a time in which market makers are avoiding exposing themselves to too much risk in the market.
Featured image via Pixabay.