Bitcoin & Ethereum Options Expiry Hits $8.05B — Brace for Market Whiplash? Hassan Shittu | usagoldmines.com

Today marks a significant moment in the crypto market as a staggering $8.05 billion worth of Bitcoin and Ethereum options expire.

The expiry event, unfolding across the largest derivatives exchange Deribit, is expected to inject considerable volatility into the markets, with short-term traders and institutional investors closely watching the outcome.

While large options expiries are routine in the crypto calendar, the scale of today’s expiry is notable, with put-to-call ratios and maximum pain points suggesting potential price swings in both directions.

For Bitcoin, a total of 77,642 options contracts are set to expire, carrying a notional value of $7.24 billion.

These contracts are skewed towards calls rather than puts, with a put-to-call ratio of 0.73, signaling a bullish bias among traders.

The maximum pain point, the price level at which option holders would lose the most money, is currently $86,000.

Interestingly, BTC is trading far above this level, hovering around $93,471 at the time of writing. This misalignment could lead to price pressure as the market nears expiry.

Ethereum, meanwhile, has 458,926 contracts expiring today with a notional value of $808.3 million.

Its put-to-call ratio is 0.74, indicating a similar sentiment to Bitcoin, albeit with smaller volume.

However, Ethereum trades below its maximum pain point of $1,900, sitting at $1,764.

What makes this expiry more important is the concentration of open interest near strike prices.

Bitcoin options are heavily clustered between $80,000 and $90,000, while Ethereum contracts show activity between $1,800 and $2,000.

Such dense clusters can act as price magnets or resistance zones, depending on market sentiment and the positioning of traders.

This technical setup increases the likelihood of sudden consolidations or sharp reversals during and shortly after the expiry window.

Bullish Bets, Whale Accumulation & Fading Optimism on $100K

Market sentiment going into this expiry has been split. On the one hand, Deribit analysts highlight long-term bullishness among Bitcoin traders, with an increase in activity involving the sale of cash-secured put options.

These options, often backed by stablecoins, serve dual purposes of collecting yield and preparing to buy Bitcoin at a lower price. This suggests a strategy based on buying dips while maintaining exposure to the upside.

The bullish tone is further amplified by call option activity targeting strikes between $90,000 and $110,000 for expiries in April to June 2025.

Investors are positioning based on a breakout above $89,000, with some momentum driven by geopolitical developments.

Notably, the reversal of Trump’s tariff policy on April 9 helped ease global market tensions and possibly triggered a flow of capital from gold to Bitcoin.

Yet, despite all this, speculative optimism appears to have its limits. According to the prediction platform Polymarket, there is only a 16% probability that Bitcoin will reach $100,000 in April.

Still, on-chain analytics suggest that mega whales, wallets holding more than 10,000 BTC, are accumulating.

Glassnode’s Accumulation Trend Score for this cohort has climbed to 0.9, indicating aggressive buying.

Whales, defined as addresses holding between 1,000 and 10,000 BTC, have also shown a positive trend recently, with a score of 0.7.

Meanwhile, smaller holders remain in a phase of distribution, showing little conviction in the current rally.

These insights suggest that institutional and high-net-worth investors are betting on the recovery and may also be driving it.

The divergence in behavior between large and small investors also suggests that the recent price surge is not merely speculative froth.

Still, it could be underpinned by capital rotation from traditional safe havens into digital assets.

Ethereum: Profit-Taking and Whale Sell-Offs Raise Red Flags

While Bitcoin shows signs of structural support from mega whales and bullish option flows, Ethereum presents a more cautious narrative.

Although ETH briefly reclaimed the $1,800 level, its inability to hold above its max pain point of $1,900 paints a less optimistic picture. Moreover, recent whale activity adds to the bearish undertones.

Ali Martinez reports that Ethereum whales offloaded over 63,000 ETH, equivalent to $110 million, within just 48 hours.

In the past week alone, 305,000 ETH (worth about $540 million) were transferred to exchanges, a common precursor to large-scale sell-offs.

These moves follow ETH’s touch of a monthly low of $1,400, erasing nearly seven years of gains, before it bounced back above $1,800 earlier this week.

The recent surge provided whales with an opportunity to exit at a higher price, and many appear to have taken it.

Ethereum’s current situation contrasts sharply with Bitcoin’s bullish undertone.

While Bitcoin miners are reportedly locking in profits of over $18.57 million following the $93,000 breakout, Ethereum holders are actively exiting positions.

Ethereum also lacks the same level of mega whale support seen in Bitcoin, and its weaker performance suggests market participants are less confident in its short-term prospects.

While there are some minor whale activities, they are not comparable to Bitcoin’s recent surge.

This divergence is further reflected in the options market. While Bitcoin options display strong bullish structures for future expiries, Ethereum’s volumes, although higher than last week, remain modest in comparative terms.

And unlike BTC, ETH is struggling to build momentum above key resistance zones.

In summary, while today’s $8.05 billion expiry event is primarily framed in terms of short-term volatility, it reflects deeper market dynamics.

Bitcoin is entering a phase of renewed accumulation among large investors, underpinned by geopolitical stability and a return of risk appetite.

Ethereum, however, remains vulnerable to profit-taking and a lack of directional conviction.

The post Bitcoin & Ethereum Options Expiry Hits $8.05B — Brace for Market Whiplash? appeared first on Cryptonews.

This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak

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