The $1.4B Question: How Bitcoin’s Massive Option Expiration Will Affect Your Portfolio

Bitcoin options expiration date is here again, where we will see a large number of contracts expire. BTC and crypto markets have been slowing following a new 2023 high this week, where will they go next?

About 33,000 Bitcoin options contracts are due to expire on Friday, December 8. It's slightly larger than last week's end event, but pales in comparison to the big one coming at the end of the month and year.

Bitcoin option expired

The total value of BTC contracts today is $1.4 billion. The put/call ratio is 0.84, which means that there are slightly more call sellers than puts. The maximum cost of pain is currently around $36,000.

Total open interest, or the value of all contracts yet to close or expire, is close to closing at $16 billion, Deribit said.

On December 7, Greeks Live noted that after last week's shipment, the share of December bitcoin options was over 50 percent. But as the market rallied this week, the share of monthly options fell below 50% again.

He added that the market is very hot right now, “like it's back to the atmosphere of late 2020.”

“On the one hand, the short-term market is showing a significant increase in short-term options positions, and on the other hand, traders who are bullish on ETFs prefer to trade January options.”

There are currently two hot strikes with over 20,000 calls for both $40,000 and $50,000.

“Options markets are suggesting that Bitcoin will hit $50,000 in January,” comments a Kobeisi letter on December 7.

Read more: 9 Best AI Crypto Trading Bots to Maximize Your Profits

This also happens in the same month that Bitcoin ETF approvals are expected, he said.

“Options are suggesting that the run is just beginning. Could this be a big sell-the-news event? Could it be? However, history has proven that Bitcoin runs when it runs. The approval of Bitcoin ETFs could already be a sell-off in crypto markets.”

Ethereum has expired

In addition to expiring Bitcoin options, about 207,000 Ethereum contracts expire today. These have a notional value of $491 million and a call ratio of 0.58.

Ethereum derivatives have been lackluster lately, with all eyes on Bitcoin. However, this may be starting to change as speculators look at the second largest crypto asset.

For the first time in a while, ETH today BTC increased by 5% to reach $ 2,375 at the time of writing. This is the highest price ETH has reached since early May 2022.

BTC has begun to correct in comparison, slipping 1.2% on the day to fall to $43,430. Moreover, most altcoins are in the green this Friday, with Solana gaining double digits.

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