A significant number of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) options contracts, valued at $8.2 billion, are set to expire today. This expiry has the potential to cause price volatility in the crypto market.
Analysts are looking at the “put/call ratio” to gauge trader sentiment. This ratio indicates how many bearish (put) contracts are expiring compared to bullish (call) contracts. For Bitcoin, the ratio sits at 0.61, suggesting a slight bullish bias among options traders. However, Ether options have a lower ratio of 0.46, indicating a more pronounced bullish sentiment.
Traders are also watching the “max pain” price points, which is the price where the most options contracts expire worthless. For Bitcoin, this point is $66,000, while for Ether it’s $3,300. Currently, both currencies are trading above their respective pain points, suggesting a possible price push upwards.
Further bullish signs come from the high open interest (OI) in options contracts with higher strike prices. This means a significant number of traders are betting on Bitcoin reaching prices of $70,000 or even $100,000. The total value of outstanding Bitcoin options contracts is a substantial $19 billion.
However, the market is still recovering from the post-approval hangover of the long-awaited Ether ETF. While the SEC’s approval of the ETF application was bullish news, the delay in its actual launch has dampened some enthusiasm. This has led to a sideways movement in the market, with both Bitcoin and Ether struggling to break key resistance levels.
