Bitcoin and Ethereum Options Expiry: Will Billion-Dollar Contracts Impact Prices?

Bitcoin and Ethereum Options Expiry: Will Billion-Dollar Contracts Impact Prices?

Crypto News – As Friday rolls around once more, all eyes are on the Bitcoin options contract expiry day. With the cryptocurrency breaching the $50,000 mark earlier this week, speculation abounds: will the expiry of billion-dollar-plus notional value contracts push prices even higher?

Approximately 21,150 Bitcoin options contracts are set to expire on February 16, marking a slightly larger event than the previous week’s, which coincided with BTC reaching a significant milestone at $50,000.

In this week’s Bitcoin options expiry, the total notional value amounts to $1.1 billion, as reported by Deribit. Moreover, the put/call ratio stands at 0.90, indicating a relatively balanced distribution between sellers of long and short contracts.

Of particular interest is the $50,000 strike price, which retains immense significance, boasting 15,766 calls and a notional value of $822 million. Notably, the put/call ratio at this strike price sits at a mere 0.24, indicating a prevalence of bullish sentiment, with bulls vastly outnumbering bears shorting at this level.

Interestingly, there’s a notable uptick in open interest at higher strike prices, including $60,000, $65,000, and even $75,000. Long-contract open interest between $60,000 and $75,000 collectively amounts to almost $2.4 billion.

According to Vetle Lunde, a senior analyst at K33 Research, the options market is currently positioning for sustained momentum in the months ahead. He noted a significant flow towards bullish price action in the past week.

With the cooling of spot ETF fever, Bitcoin’s momentum is now being fueled by anticipation surrounding the approaching halving and potential rate cuts. Despite this, inflows into spot BTC ETFs have surged to a record aggregate of $4 billion, encompassing outflows from Grayscale.

In parallel, Ethereum contracts are also expiring on February 16, with around 198,700 options contracts valued at $565 million. The largest open interest is observed at the $3,000 strike price, totaling $585 million with 205,000 calls. Additionally, significant interest is noted at the $2,400 strike price, with open interest amounting to $460 million.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin prices hover slightly above $52,000, having reached a two-year high of $52,800 in late trading on February 15. Meanwhile, Ethereum leads the market with a 2.5% gain, reaching $2,860, its highest price since May 2022.