Will Markets Continue to Fall When $3B Crypto Options Expire Today? 

Round 26,500 Bitcoin choices contracts will expire on Friday, Could 16, they usually have a notional worth of roughly $2.7 billion.

This week’s occasion is similar to last week’s, as derivatives crypto buying and selling has but to select up. Spot markets have seen stable development with Bitcoin reclaiming six figures, however momentum seems to be cooling now as they begin to appropriate.

Crypto Choices Expiry

This week’s batch of Bitcoin choices contracts has a put/name ratio of 0.99, which means that the brief and lengthy contract sellers are evenly matched. There’s additionally a max ache level of $100,000, round $4,000 under present spot costs, which is the place most losses will probably be made on expiry.

Furthermore, that is additionally the extent at which there’s essentially the most open curiosity (OI), or the worth or variety of BTC choices contracts but to run out, at $1.5 billion. Different scorching strike costs with excessive OI embody $110,000 and $120,000 as speculators wager on a brand new all-time excessive.

Choices Expiry Alert

Tomorrow 08:00 UTC: Over $3.1B in BTC & ETH choices expire on Deribit.$BTC: $2.66B notional | Put/Name: 0.99 | Max Ache: $100K
$ETH: $525M notional | Put/Name: 1.24 | Max Ache: $2,200

BTC skew is impartial, ETH places barely outweigh calls. Worth… pic.twitter.com/jBj4C4tMvX

— Deribit (@DeribitOfficial) May 15, 2025

“Market contributors are divided on whether or not Bitcoin will attain a brand new ATH quickly, with many anticipating it in Could or June however others predicting a rejection earlier than ATH,” stated Greeks Dwell in a market update earlier this week.

“There seems to be rising warning as merchants word the market appears overextended, with particular give attention to the $105k degree as a possible reversal zone.”

It added that there was “defensive positioning” amongst crypto choices merchants, and a number of other are “taking income on lengthy calls and rotating into extra defensive positions as they really feel ‘all people rushed in’.”

Along with at the moment’s batch of Bitcoin choices, there are round 220,000 Ethereum contracts which might be additionally expiring at the moment, with a notional worth of $570 million, a max ache level of $2,200, and a put/name ratio of 1.24. This brings Friday’s mixed crypto choices expiry notional worth to round $3.2 billion.

Crypto Market Outlook

Whole market capitalization has declined by 2% over the previous 24 hours, falling to $3.45 trillion.

Bitcoin has held on to features, bucking the pattern, with a 1.2% day by day improve to reclaim $104,000 throughout the Friday morning Asian buying and selling session. The asset has whipsawed between $102,000 and $104,000 over the previous week, however may begin to weaken if contemporary capital doesn’t come quickly.

Ethereum has remained flat on the day, buying and selling at round $2,570 on the time of writing, having failed to interrupt resistance at $2,700.

The altcoins are typically blended with losses for XRP, Dogecoin, Chainlink, and Avalanche, and minor features for Binance Coin, Sui, and Hyperliquid.