Crypto Markets on Edge as $14.6 Billion BTC and ETH Options Set to Expire on Deribit
Massive crypto options expiry looms—traders brace for volatility tsunami.
The Gamma Squeeze Calculus
When $14.6 billion in Bitcoin and Ethereum derivatives hit expiration, markets don't just twitch—they convulse. This isn't mere speculation; it's mathematical inevitability. Market makers hedge. Positions get rolled. Liquidity gets tested.
Deribit's Dominance Play
The platform controls over 90% of crypto options volume. When Deribit sneezes, the entire market catches a cold—or worse. Their expiry events have previously triggered 20% single-day swings. Nobody's calling this 'normal.'
The Institutional Poker Face
Wall Street's crypto desks are quietly repositioning. They'll never admit it, but their algos are already pricing in the gamma exposure. Retail traders? They're about to learn why options are called 'asymmetric weapons'—the hard way.
Just another Friday in crypto—where 'risk management' often means hoping the other guy blinks first.
Neutral stance for ETH, protection for BTC
Deribit expiry positioning shows a difference in sentiment between the two leading cryptocurrencies, where the majority of the market believes bitcoin could be pulled down further. However, Ether’s price correction is not enough to definitively split the numbers between bulls and bears.
“BTC expiry points to persistent demand for downside protection, while ETH looks more neutral,” the platform stated.
The exchange added that the expiry timing follows signals from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at last week’s Jackson Hole conference, which may help define the market tone for September.
As reported by Cryptopolitan last week, Powell suggested the possibility of an interest rate cut at the Fed’s next policy meeting on September 16-17. However, he stopped short of delivering a strong commitment, much different from last year’s conference, when policymakers broadly favored policy easing amid slowing labor conditions and lesser inflationary pressures.
Liquidations wipe out weekly gains, max pain theory in scope
In the last five years, the growth of the options market has made monthly and quarterly expiries closely watched events for digital asset prices.
Market watchers began “max pain” theory discussions in 2021, which dictates that prices are pulled towards strike levels where the largest number of options expire worthless. If the values drop to such levels, this could cause a heavy collective loss on holders, or in other words, max pain.
It is still a matter of dispute within the crypto community since it has actually never happened, but traders continue to monitor it around expiry dates. Current max pain levels stand at $116,000 for Bitcoin and $3,800 for Ether, reference points for those who believe the effect is meaningful.
The latest options expiry also comes against a backdrop of $900 million in Leveraged positions being liquidated to start the week. BTC and ETH both slumped by over 1.5%, alongside the broad US stock market index, S&P 500.
Data from Coinglass shows that Ether traders saw $320 million in forced liquidations. Bitcoin-linked liquidations followed at $277 million. Altcoins Solana’s SOL, XRP, and Dogecoin posted combined losses of about $90 million.
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