$8.2B in Bitcoin and Ether options expire, here’s how it could impact the markets

On May 31, 69,000 Bitcoin options worth $4.7 billion and 920,000 Ether options worth $3.5 billion expire. The expiry of crypto options contracts is historically linked to price volatility in the crypto market.

According to the Derbit data, the put/call ratio for the expired Bitcoin ( BTC ) options is 0.61. This means more calls (or long contracts) are expiring than puts (or shorts). On the other hand, Ether ( ETH )  options had a put/call ratio of 0.46.

The put/call ratio (PCR) is a technical indicator that reflects trader market sentiment. A PCR below 0.7 is considered a strong bullish sentiment, while a PCR above 1 is considered a strong bearish sentiment.

Max pain for Bitcoin at $66,000, ETH at $3,300

The maximum pain point at which most losses will be made by the leverage traders for Bitcoin is $66,000. For ETH, the max pain point is $3,300. BTC is currently trading at $68,210, $2,000 above the pain point, and ETH is trading at $3,738, more than $400 above its pain point.

Millions in open interest (OI) are in long positions with strike prices at $70,000, $75,000, $80,000, and even $100,000. Open interest refers to the total number of outstanding derivative contracts that have not been settled.

A few traders have placed long positions on Bitcoin with a target price of $100,000. With $886 million in open interest (OI) at this strike price, the number of long positions appears significant. The total notional value of all outstanding BTC options contracts amounts to $19 billion.

Related: Bitcoin price reclaims $70K as Coinbase BTC supply hits 9-year low

Post-spot ETH approval hangover

The spot ETH ETF approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in May was a significant and bullish event for the crypto market. ETH prices rose 20% in May in anticipation of the approval. However, the SEC only approved the 19b-4 filing, thus delaying the actual listing for trading.

Since the ETH ETF approval, the crypto market has shown a bearish sideways movement, with ETH stuck below $4,000 and BTC below the $70,000 price barrier. Currently, the crypto market is experiencing bearish momentum, correcting from the bullish surge of the past two weeks.

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