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Bitcoin and Ethereum options worth about $11 billion are set to expire on Friday, June 26, as crypto markets trade near fresh lows. The batch includes around 153,500 Bitcoin contracts valued at roughly $9.3 billion. The timing matters since month-end and quarter-end expiries often bring sharper price swings.
The total crypto market value has dropped by more than $180 billion since Monday. The broader market has now slipped to an almost two-year low. At the same time, spot prices have taken another hit as traders face a fresh wave of pressure.
Bitcoin traded near $58,000 before recovering toward $60,000 in Asian trading. It was down 2.7% on the day and 4.5% on the week. Could this expiry add more pressure to an already battered spot market?
Bitcoin options show a put/call ratio of 0.73. That means call sellers slightly outweigh put sellers in this week’s expiration. Even so, the setup still points to a tense finish for traders.
Max pain sits near $72,000. That level is about $13,000 above current spot prices. As a result, most contracts would expire out of the money.
Open interest remains highest at the $80,000 strike on Deribit, where it reaches $1.4 billion. Short sellers also hold about $1 billion in open interest at $60,000. Across all exchanges, total BTC options open interest has climbed to $34 billion, according to Coinglass.
Deribit said BTC heads into expiry well below its $72,000 max pain level. It also noted that recent quarterly expiries have shown limited evidence of a stable pinning effect before settlement.
Ethereum options add another layer of pressure. Around 1 million ETH contracts worth $1.6 billion are expiring, with max pain near $2,000 and a put/call ratio of 0.54. Total ETH options open interest across exchanges stands near $5.7 billion.
Greeks Live said puts continue to command a clear premium over calls across major tenors. It added that near-term downside protection remains in demand, while longer-dated pricing stays more stable.
Ether fell more than 5% to about $1,555 and briefly touched $1,522. XRP dropped 4.9% to $1.03, Dogecoin slid 3.8% to $0.074, and Solana fell 1.2% to $68. Ether was also briefly overtaken by Tether in market cap.
Read More: Strategy Slips as Bitcoin Drops Below Cost Basis and Buying Slows
Pressure also came from outside crypto. Global stocks fell to a two-week low after Apple dropped 6.1% on higher product prices. South Korea’s Kospi sank as much as 9%, while Nasdaq 100 futures fell 1.5%. Brent crude slipped below $74 a barrel after a strike in the Strait of Hormuz briefly renewed supply concerns.
The $11 billion Bitcoin options expiry arrives as crypto markets remain under heavy pressure following sharp price declines across major digital assets. Rising open interest, key max pain levels, and broader weakness in global markets leave traders focused on potential volatility during the quarterly settlement.
