Crypto Markets Braced for Massive $11B End-of-Quarter Options Expiry

A massive $11 billion crypto options expiry event is set to shake up markets today as the end of Q2 and the quarter brings a surge in notional value. Approximately 153,500 Bitcoin options contracts will expire on Friday, June 26, with a value of around $9.3 billion. This event is larger than usual due to its timing at the end of both the month and quarter.

The put/call ratio for this week's batch of Bitcoin options is 0.73, indicating that sellers of long contracts slightly outweigh short contract sellers. The max pain level, or the price at which most options will be out of the money on expiry, is around $72,000, which is roughly $13,000 higher than current spot prices.

Open interest in Bitcoin options remains high, particularly at the $80,000 strike price on Deribit with a value of $1.4 billion. However, short sellers still hold $1 billion in open interest at the $60,000 strike price. Total BTC options open interest across all exchanges has been increasing over the past week and stands at $34 billion.