Bitcoin and ether options totaling billions of dollars are due to expire on Friday, as traders maintain a broadly bullish stance while stepping up protection against near-term downside risks.
Bitcoin options with a notional value of about $8.5 billion are set to expire on Deribit at 08:00 UTC on Friday. Deribit is the largest crypto derivatives exchange globally by trading volume and open interest. The notional values reflect the dollar value of outstanding contracts, with each option representing one bitcoin or one ether.
The crypto options market has grown rapidly since the 2020 COVID-era crash, driven by rising institutional participation and wider use of derivatives for hedging and yield-generation strategies. Call options typically signal bullish expectations, while put options are used to hedge or profit from price declines.
Positioning into the expiry remains skewed toward calls, as reflected in the put-call ratio.
“The put-call ratio for this expiry is 0.56, showing that positioning into month-end is still tilted toward bullish calls,” said Sidrah Fariq, global head of retail sales and business development at Deribit, in comments to CoinDesk.
That bias suggests traders had been looking for stronger price action in January, though bitcoin has gained just 2% so far this month, according to CoinDesk data.
Price momentum could improve if Wednesday’s Federal Reserve rate decision points to easier financial conditions ahead. Bitcoin, much like technology stocks, has historically benefited from lower interest rates and increased liquidity.
Even so, traders have been actively buying put options ahead of the Fed meeting to hedge against potential short-term volatility.
“Recent flows show heavy use of put diagonal calendar spreads and concentrated downside activity in Jan. 30 strikes, with notable demand for $88,000 and $85,000 bitcoin puts over the past 24 hours,” Fariq said.
“With markets largely expecting the Fed to keep rates unchanged, this positioning appears aimed at managing event-driven volatility rather than betting on a policy-triggered selloff,” she added.
Alongside bitcoin, ether options with a notional value of roughly $1.3 billion will also expire on Friday.
While large monthly and quarterly expiries can drive short-term price swings, they are unlikely to generate lasting market moves. Bitcoin’s upcoming $8.5 billion expiry, for instance, represents less than 1% of its roughly $1.7 trillion market capitalization.
About The Author
More Stories
Dogecoin falls 7% as Bitcoin volatility spurs caution among memecoin traders.
The major safety net for BTC is gone; a drop under $85,000 may spark additional selling
BTC drops to $85,200, marking 2026 lows, while gold gives back gains and Microsoft weighs on the Nasdaq