Overview
- Deribit’s Bitcoin options open interest rose to $31.3 billion on May 21, and 80,535 contracts worth roughly $6.25 billion are scheduled to expire on May 29.
- Traders have heavily bought out-of-the-money $82,000 calls including a roughly $126 million block trade, creating a pronounced upside concentration at that strike.
- The largest put cluster sits near $75,000 and the calculated put/call ratio is about 0.86, leaving a ‘max pain’ level around $75,000 that can act as a gravitational price target into expiry.
- Market makers who sold large call or put positions may need to hedge by buying or selling spot Bitcoin as the price approaches key strikes, a process called gamma hedging that can amplify moves toward or away from those strikes.
- The May 29 settlement coincides with a pending CME proposal to move Bitcoin futures and options to 24/7 trading, and traders should note that a larger $14 billion Deribit expiry in March produced mainly a volatility reset rather than a dramatic spot move.