On Friday, May 23, approximately 25,400 Bitcoin options contracts are set to expire, carrying a notional value near $2.8 billion. This significant expiry event closely mirrors last week’s, as crypto derivatives trading continues to stabilize amid growing market confidence.
Bitcoin’s spot market has shown robust momentum, hitting a new peak above $111,000 on Thursday, signaling strong bullish sentiment.
Looking at the options data, the current Bitcoin options expiry features a put/call ratio of 1.2, indicating a higher volume of short contracts compared to longs betting on price increases. The max pain point sits at $103,000—around $8,000 below Bitcoin’s current spot price—where the majority of losses are expected during expiry.
Additionally, over $1 billion in open interest is concentrated in strike prices ranging from $110,000 to $130,000, with speculators anticipating another all-time high.
Crypto derivatives provider Greeks Live reports a predominantly bullish sentiment for Bitcoin, expecting upward momentum to persist, despite warnings of a potential 15% to 20% correction. Key price levels to watch include $110,000 as immediate support, $120,000 as a near-term target, and a longer-term range between $150,000 and $200,000. Yet, negative funding rates reveal that many traders continue to short the market even amid the rally.
In parallel, around 201,000 Ethereum contracts worth $547 million are also expiring, with a put/call ratio of 1.23 and a max pain point near $2,400. This pushes the combined crypto options expiry value for the day to roughly $3.3 billion.
Despite expectations for Ethereum to reach $3,000 by June, it has notably lagged behind Bitcoin’s strong performance, currently trading near $2,700 with moderate gains.
The broader crypto market capitalization has climbed to $3.65 trillion, its highest since early February, driven largely by Bitcoin’s surge. Altcoins like Cardano, Hyperliquid, Avalanche, and Bitcoin Cash are also posting solid gains this Friday.
As the $2.8 billion Bitcoin options expiry approaches, traders and investors are closely monitoring how this event will shape market movement in the coming days.
