Bitcoin is heading into one of its largest options expiries of the year as spot markets remain under pressure.
Summary
- Bitcoin options expiring today sit far above spot, keeping the $60,000 level under pressure again.
- Puts trade at premiums over calls as traders seek protection from more near-term downside risk.
- Ether adds $1.6b in expiring contracts while spot ETH hovers near 2026 lows this week.
Around 153,500 Bitcoin options contracts are set to expire on Friday, June 26, with a notional value of about $9.3b.
The end-of-month and end-of-quarter timing makes the event larger than a normal weekly expiry. Traders often adjust positions around these dates, which can add short-term price swings. Bitcoin traded near $59,648 at the time of writing, after touching an intraday low near $58,189.
According to a Deribit market update, BTC is entering expiry well below its $72,000 max pain level.
“Recent quarterly expiries have shown limited evidence of a consistent pinning effect ahead of settlement,” Deribit added.
Max pain is the price where the largest number of options expire with no value. When spot price is far below that level, many call options lose value at expiry. That does not always pull price higher, but it shows how far the market has moved from bullish positioning.
Bitcoin traders pay for downside protection
This week’s Bitcoin options batch has a put/call ratio near 0.73. That means call contracts still outnumber puts, but demand for downside hedging has grown as spot prices weaken.
GreeksLive said BTC’s 25-delta skew has worsened across short-dated maturities. The firm said puts now trade at a premium over calls across major tenors. That shows traders are paying more to protect against further downside.
Total Bitcoin options open interest has climbed near $34b across exchanges, according to CoinGlass options data. Deribit data also shows heavy open interest around the $80,000 strike, while the $60,000 strike remains a key downside area.
As previously reported, last week’s $2.13b options expiry kept the $60,000 level in focus. GreeksLive had warned that a clean break below that level could force more hedging activity and speed up selling.
Ether adds to the expiry wall
Ether also faces a large expiry. Around 1m ETH options contracts are set to expire, with a notional value near $1.6b. The batch has a max pain level near $2,000 and a put/call ratio around 0.54.
ETH traded near $1,544 at the time of writing after falling to $1,515 earlier in the session. The token remains far below its max pain level, leaving many bullish contracts out of the money.
As crypto.news reported, Bitcoin and Ether faced a $2.5b options expiry on June 12, when BTC also traded below max pain and support centered around $60,000 to $62,000. That same zone is now under more pressure.
The combined BTC and ETH expiry is worth about $11b. This makes Friday’s settlement one of the largest crypto derivatives events of 2026 so far.
Spot market stays weak
The options expiry arrives after a heavy market selloff. Bitcoin fell about 4% during the Friday Asian session before rebounding toward $60,000. Ether also slid more than 5%, briefly touching levels last seen during earlier bear-market trading.
In a previous article, crypto.news discussed how Bitcoin fell toward $73,000 before another large options expiry, as ETF outflows and derivatives pressure hit the market. The latest drop shows pressure has moved deeper into the $60,000 area.
Options expiry alone may not decide the next trend. Still, the size of the June 26 settlement, weak spot prices and demand for downside protection may keep volatility high into the weekend.
For traders, the main levels remain simple. Bitcoin needs to defend the $58,000 to $60,000 range to slow further selling. Ether needs to recover above $1,600 to avoid deeper pressure near the $1,500 zone.
