$2 Billion Bitcoin Options Expiry Today: Market Reaction and Outlook
The first Bitcoin options expiry event of 2025 is set to take place this Friday, January 3, with the cryptocurrency trading sideways over the past two weeks. With nearly $2 billion in Bitcoin options expiring, market participants are closely monitoring potential price movements and volatility.
Bitcoin Options Expiry Details
Around 20,000 Bitcoin options contracts, valued at approximately $1.93 billion, are expiring today. While this figure is smaller compared to last week’s massive end-of-year expiry, its impact on spot markets is expected to be relatively muted.
The current put/call ratio for this batch of contracts is 0.68, indicating a higher number of bullish call options compared to bearish put options.
Data from Deribit reveals that open interest (OI) is highest at the $120,000 strike price, amounting to $1.4 billion. Another $1.3 billion in OI is concentrated at the $110,000 level, reflecting strong bullish sentiment among derivatives traders who are targeting higher price ranges.
Deribit also highlighted that perpetual swaps and options markets are showing mixed signals. Short-term volatility skews slightly toward out-of-the-money (OTM) puts, while longer-term options indicate a more bullish bias.
Crypto derivatives provider Greeks Live reported earlier this week that a notable short call position worth $42 million has been placed on Bitcoin, betting that BTC will stay below $150,000 by March 28. If successful, the trader could earn $900,000 from this position.
Ethereum Options Expiry Adds to Market Pressure
In addition to Bitcoin, around 205,000 Ethereum options contracts are also set to expire today. These contracts carry a notional value of $710 million and a put/call ratio of 0.82, indicating slightly less bullish sentiment compared to Bitcoin.
Together, today’s Bitcoin and Ethereum options expiries bring the total notional value to approximately $2.6 billion, making it one of the larger events to start the year.
Crypto Market Outlook and Price Action
Crypto markets have shown resilience in early 2025, adding $160 billion in capitalization since the start of the year. Total market value now stands at $3.56 trillion.
Bitcoin gained 1.7% over the past 24 hours, reaching near $97,000 during Friday’s early Asian trading hours. However, it remains range-bound and needs to break above the psychological resistance level of $100,000 to trigger further upward momentum.
Ethereum has outperformed Bitcoin recently, rising 2% on the day and approaching the $3,500 mark. Analysts suggest ETH could see further gains if it successfully clears resistance at $3,600.
Altcoins also demonstrated strong performance on Friday, with most outperforming Bitcoin in daily percentage gains.
Final Thoughts
As the first major options expiry event of 2025 unfolds, traders remain focused on key resistance levels and volatility patterns. While today’s expiries are unlikely to cause dramatic moves, market sentiment leans bullish with higher strike prices dominating open interest.
With both Bitcoin and Ethereum poised near critical price levels, investors are watching closely for breakout signals that could set the tone for the coming months in the crypto markets.
