Crypto News – Expiration of $1.54 Billion in Bitcoin and Ethereum Options Sparks Market Anticipation

Crypto News – Expiration of $1.54 Billion in Bitcoin and Ethereum Options Sparks Market Anticipation

Crypto News – Today, the cryptocurrency market is bracing for the expiration of approximately $1.54 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) options. Such expirations are known to cause notable price fluctuations, making today a critical juncture for traders and investors.

Market Analysts Foresee Stabilization Following Options Expiration

The Bitcoin options set to expire hold a notional value of $1.04 billion, encompassing 18,339 contracts. These contracts feature a put-to-call ratio of 0.71 and a maximum pain point of $62,000. The maximum pain point is a significant concept in options trading, indicating the price level that inflicts the most financial discomfort on option holders. The current put-to-call ratio also highlights a dominance of call options (purchase) over put options (sale).

In the case of Ethereum, 162,782 contracts with a notional value of $501.12 million are due to expire. These contracts show a put-to-call ratio of 0.37 and a maximum pain point of $3,350. Analysts from Greeks.Live observed that recent market downturns have severely impacted the crypto markets, with BTC dropping to $57,000 and ETH to $3,100.

Further data reveals an uptick in BTC’s short-term implied volatility (IV) by 10%. The Deribit Implied Volatility Index (DVOL) has risen by 3%, with ETH’s volatility parameters increasing slightly less than BTC’s. Skew values currently suggest a bearish market sentiment.

“BTC Block put volume is clearly increasing, and the transaction distribution is becoming more complex. The July 12 $58,000 Put is the largest one. According to Options Data, whales are not overly concerned about potential downside risks at the moment. They are mainly adjusting their positions for the previous week’s quarterly delivery, especially for ETH, where whales are showing low volatility expectations,” explained the analysts from Greeks.Live.

The prices of both Bitcoin and Ethereum have seen significant declines this week. On July 4, BTC dropped from the $60,000 level to a low of $56,964 today. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $57,037. Similarly, Ethereum fell from $3,304 to $3,060 during the same period, now valued at $3,083, marking a 3.4% drop in the last 24 hours.

Experts attribute the recent declines in BTC and ETH prices to increased sell-offs from long-term whales, including governmental entities. BeInCrypto reported that on-chain data revealed the German government’s crypto wallet transferred 3,000 BTC, worth around $174.3 million, to various destinations, including major exchanges like Bitstamp, Kraken, and Coinbase.

While options expirations often lead to temporary market disruptions, they typically pave the way for stabilization. Analysts emphasize the importance of historical patterns in guiding traders’ strategies. As such, traders should remain alert, closely analyzing technical indicators and market sentiment to navigate the expected volatility effectively.