Nearly $17B in Bitcoin and Ethereum options set for 2026 Q3 expiry

There is roughly $16.6 billion worth of Bitcoin and Ethereum options sitting on Deribit’s books, all scheduled to expire on September 25, 2026. Bitcoin options account for the bulk of that figure at approximately $14.63 billion, with Ethereum options adding another $1.93 billion. The call-heavy tilt that defines this expiry Options come in two flavors: calls, which profit when prices rise, and puts, which profit when prices fall. For Bitcoin, the put/call open interest ratio sits at 0.52. For Ethereum, it is 0.57. Both numbers below 1.0 mean there are roughly twice as many call contracts outstanding as put contracts. With Bitcoin trading near $78,000 as of September 14, the concentration of call positions at higher strike prices suggests many traders are positioned for a move beyond current levels before the September 25 settlement. The estimated max-pain level for the expiry sits between $72,000 and $75,000, meaning the price at which the largest number of open contracts expire worthless is meaningfully below the current spot price. Why max pain matters and why traders ignore it anyway Max pain is a concept borrowed from traditional options markets. The theory holds that, heading ...