Deribit options could worsen Bitcoin turbulence

Deribit options had a relatively subdued expiry event, with $3.18B in open interest positions expiring on Friday. The small weekly event precedes a larger monthly, quarterly, and yearly expiration in a week. 

Deribit options signal careful trading, with protection against the downside for BTC. In total, $3.18 in BTC and ETH options expired on Friday, with $2.7B in notional value for BTC contracts. 

BTC traded close to the maximum pain levels at around $88,000. However, this time around, traders are not pushing BTC deliberately toward the maximum pain level. Options are becoming a tool for protection, with positioning based on put options for prices below $91,000 per BTC. 

The weekly expiration event has a put/call ratio of 0.8, suggesting slightly more call options at this price range. Traders show a dominance of call options at prices above $91,000, while the biggest liquidity for put options is at $85,000. 

The options positioning suggests traders are seeking a way to exit the market in the case of a downturn toward $80,000. Historically, weekly options expiry has been followed by more volatile trading over the weekend. However, BTC and ETH are facing price pressures, and the effect of Deribit may be smaller.

Deribit options protect from ETH dip to $2,500

Another $460M in ETH options expired on Friday, with maximum pain at $3,100. Ahead of the weekly event, ETH traded at $2,952.97. 

ETH strike prices are more diverse compared to BTC, with the most liquidity allocated to downside protection at $3,500. 

Based on options positioning, traders may be more bullish on ETH at levels above $3,400. ETH sentiment is also more neutral compared to BTC, which is also reflected in the options market. 

Deribit options prepare for yearly close

In the last quarter of 2025, the options market slowed down. After the Q3 expiry event, Deribit rebuilt a lower level of open interest. 

At the end of Q3, options markets had a total of over $46B in open interest. Toward the end of the year, open interest is down to $39B, remaining flat over the past three months. The last period of 2025 arrived with smaller weekly expiry events, though still retaining the higher baseline achieved at the end of November. 

On December 26, around $23B in options are expected to expire, making up more than half of the open interest. Other contracts will be rolled over into the next quarter. 

After that, the rebuilding liquidity on Deribit may signal the overall trend on crypto markets. Derivative trading lagged behind the October 11 crash, and in fact benefitted as traders were seeking both protection and opportunities to make calls at a favorable price. 

However, the stagnant trading of BTC also led to a slower derivative market, in addition to overall falling interest on futures markets. BTC open interest remains at around $27B, with minimal change since the October crash. 

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