{"id":4237,"date":"2026-06-26T07:15:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T07:15:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.coinsignals.net\/?p=4237"},"modified":"2026-06-26T07:15:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T07:15:08","slug":"crypto-markets-brace-as-11b-options-expiry-looms-over-quarter-end-volatility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.coinsignals.net\/index.php\/2026\/06\/26\/crypto-markets-brace-as-11b-options-expiry-looms-over-quarter-end-volatility\/","title":{"rendered":"Crypto Markets Brace as $11B Options Expiry Looms Over Quarter-End Volatility"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A major expiration event in the crypto derivatives market is set to take place today as the end of the quarter and month coincides with one of the largest options expiries of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Approximately 153,500 Bitcoin options contracts are scheduled to expire on Friday, June 26, carrying a combined notional value of about $9.3 billion. The scale of the event is significantly larger than typical expiries due to the end of Q2, raising concerns about increased volatility in already weak market conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bitcoin Options Expiry in Focus<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week\u2019s Bitcoin options data shows a put to call ratio of 0.73, indicating slightly more call positions than puts. The maximum pain level is positioned around $72,000, far above current spot prices, meaning most contracts are expected to expire out of the money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Open interest remains concentrated at higher levels, particularly around the $80,000 strike on Deribit, where about $1.4 billion is positioned. Meanwhile, roughly $1 billion in open interest is clustered around the $60,000 strike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Total Bitcoin options open interest across exchanges has risen to about $34 billion, according to CoinGlass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deribit analysts noted that Bitcoin is heading into expiry well below its $72,000 max pain level, adding that recent quarterly expiries have shown limited evidence of prices being strongly pulled toward max pain ahead of settlement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Market data from Greeks Live also shows that put options continue to trade at a premium over calls across most maturities, signaling sustained demand for downside protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ETH Expiry Adds to Pressure<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alongside Bitcoin, around 1 million Ethereum options contracts are also expiring, with a notional value of approximately $1.6 billion. These contracts carry a put to call ratio of 0.54 and a max pain level near $2,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ethereum\u2019s total options open interest stands at roughly $5.7 billion, contributing to a combined crypto options expiry event valued at around $11 billion, one of the largest of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spot Market Under Heavy Pressure<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spot markets have continued to weaken, falling about 3% on the day to levels not seen since September 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bitcoin dropped nearly 4%, briefly sliding to just above $58,000 during Friday\u2019s Asian trading session before recovering slightly toward $60,000. The move marked a fresh low for the current market cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier in the week, analysts had warned that a sharp downside move in this region was increasingly likely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Ethereum fell more than 5% to around $1,522, its lowest level since the April 2025 downturn and back to levels last seen during the 2023 bear market. At one point, Ethereum briefly lost its position as the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization to Tether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most altcoins remain under heavy selling pressure, with the broader market continuing to reflect widespread risk aversion.#crypto#cryptonews https:\/\/coinsignals.net<\/a> https:\/\/t.me\/coinsignalpublic<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A major expiration event in the crypto derivatives market is set to take place today as the end of the quarter and month coincides with one...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.coinsignals.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.coinsignals.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.coinsignals.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.coinsignals.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.coinsignals.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4237"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.coinsignals.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4237\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4240,"href":"https:\/\/blog.coinsignals.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4237\/revisions\/4240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.coinsignals.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.coinsignals.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.coinsignals.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}