Bitcoin Options Expiry on Deribit

Bitcoin (BTC) options worth billions of dollars are set to expire on Deribit this Friday.

Market Overview

More than 139,000 BTC option contracts totaling $12.13 billion are due for settlement, representing nearly 45% of total active BTC contracts across all expiries, according to Deribit metrics.

Call and Put Options

Over 65% of the open interest is concentrated in call options, providing buyers with bullish exposure. The rest is in put options, offering downside protection.

Volatility Expectations

Despite the large expiry, significant market volatility is not expected. The 30-day implied volatility index (DVOL) has declined from 62% to 48% leading up to the expiry, indicating subdued volatility expectations. This can also be seen in the annualized perpetual futures basis of around 5%, suggesting a calm funding environment.

Luuk Strijers, CEO of Deribit, noted, “Despite the size of the expiry, the overall setup—low DVOL, moderate basis, and balanced options positioning—points to a relatively subdued expiry unless external catalysts emerge.”

Hedging and Outlook

Options skew, which measures the difference in implied volatility between calls and puts, indicates downside concerns ahead of the expiry. However, the broader outlook appears constructive. Strijers explained, “3-Day Put-Call Skew is Slightly Positive indicating some immediate downside protection demand while 30-Day Put-Call Skew is slightly Negative indicating a more bullish outlook over the medium term.”

Also expiring this Friday are ether (ETH) options worth $2.8 billion.