Bitcoin Price Impact: Will This Week’s $2.5B Options Expiry Move Markets?
On Friday, May 2, approximately 27,000 Bitcoin options contracts—worth a notional $2.54 billion—are set to expire. While this figure aligns with recent weekly averages, the overall crypto derivatives market remains relatively quiet, even as spot prices hint at a broader recovery.
Bitcoin Options Expiry Analysis
This week’s contracts show a put/call ratio of 1, signaling a balanced sentiment between bullish and bearish traders. The max pain point is located at $90,000, meaning most losses will occur if BTC settles near that level at expiration.
Open interest is especially concentrated at the $100,000 strike price, totaling nearly $1.5 billion, which reflects growing bullish sentiment among derivatives traders. Still, bears aren’t backing down—substantial open interest also exists at the $80,000 and $65,000 strike prices, indicating ongoing caution.
According to derivatives platform Deribit, implied volatility has continued to decline, particularly in short- and medium-term timeframes. Analysts from Greeks Live noted that while BTC’s price hovers near $95,000, overall sentiment remains lukewarm, with volatility expectations staying low.
Funding rates are stable and close to zero, and short-term option “smiles” (volatility curves) appear neutral, suggesting a relatively flat market outlook.
Ethereum and Broader Crypto Options Market
In addition to Bitcoin, around 175,000 Ethereum options—worth $317 million—are also expiring today. ETH’s max pain point is $1,800, with a slightly bullish put/call ratio of 0.87. Altogether, today’s total crypto options expiry value exceeds $2.85 billion.
Market Outlook
Despite a mostly sideways week, the broader crypto market cap rose slightly to $3.12 trillion, with Bitcoin reaching an intraday high of $97,340 on Thursday. At the time of writing, BTC remains strong, trading just under $97,000, up 3% from the previous week.
Ethereum also saw modest gains, touching $1,860—its highest in a month. Altcoins like Dogecoin, Litecoin, Avalanche, and Hyperliquid are also showing strength as the market closes the week on a positive note.
