Friday has arrived again, bringing another round of Bitcoin and Ethereum options expirations while spot markets try to hold on to recent gains.
About 22,200 Bitcoin options contracts are set to expire on April 17, with a total value of roughly $1.66 billion. This expiry is slightly smaller than last week’s, so it is not expected to significantly affect spot market movements.
Crypto prices have been gradually rising throughout the week, adding around $150 billion to the total market capitalization since Monday.
Bitcoin Options Expiry Overview
This week’s Bitcoin options show a put to call ratio of 1, indicating a balance between bullish and bearish positions. The max pain level is estimated at $71,000, which sits slightly below current spot prices, meaning some contracts may expire out of the money.
Open interest remains highest at the $80,000 strike price on Deribit, with about $1.5 billion in bullish positions. However, bearish traders still hold around $1.4 billion in open interest at the $60,000 level.
Across all exchanges, total Bitcoin options open interest has been steadily increasing this month and now stands at $35.6 billion, according to Coinglass.
Market positioning has shifted compared to last week. Bitcoin has moved from being dominated by call options to puts taking the lead, while Ethereum open interest has continued to grow despite broader market trends.
As Bitcoin’s price recovers, implied volatility for major options is declining, while market skew remains positive. Analysts note that traders are adjusting their strategies and increasingly aligning around expectations of lower volatility in the near term.
Alongside Bitcoin, about 196,000 Ethereum contracts are also expiring today, with a total value of $460 million. The max pain level is $2,225, and the put to call ratio stands at 0.91. Total Ethereum options open interest across exchanges is currently around $7.4 billion.
Spot Market Outlook
Total crypto market capitalization has reached a ten week high of $2.64 trillion, though it is now facing resistance similar to levels seen in mid March. Bitcoin is trading near the $75,000 resistance zone and has struggled to break above it.
Ethereum is closing the week around $2,345 after gaining about 7 percent over the past seven days. The altcoin market is mixed, with stronger performances from XRP, Solana, Dogecoin, Cardano, and MemeCore, the latter surging by 32 percent.#crypto#cryptonews https://coinsignals.net https://t.me/coinsignalpublic
