- Bitcoin (BTC) was stable above $107,500, increasing the expiration date of its major options on Friday.
- 38% of $400 billion open interest on DeLibit’s BTC options expires, with a “maximum pain” price of $102,000.
- Bitcoin’s implicit volatility fell to 38% from 50% in April, indicating a growing market confidence.
Bitcoin traded within a narrow range during US time on Thursday, and remains stable above $107,000 as traders positioned themselves ahead of the expiration date of key quarterly options scheduled for Friday.
Although there was a slight decline in the broader crypto market, Bitcoin’s stability supported the tensions underlying the massive derivative contracts approaching conclusion.
The top cryptocurrency was at a negligible 0.2% in the last 24 hours, and last changed hands to around $107,500.
In contrast, Coindesk 20 is an index that tracks the top 20 digital assets except for Stablecoins, Exchange Coins and some memokine over the same period, indicating the weaknesses of the Altcoin market.
Market participants will focus on the event on Friday. This is set to be one of the biggest options of the year.
“This Friday marks one of the expiration dates for the biggest options of the year with Deribit,” Jean-David Péquignot, chief commercial officer of popular derivatives Exchange Deribit, told Coindesk.
He said the total open interest on Bitcoin options is currently a staggering $40 billion, with 38% of those contracts expected to expire on Friday.
The key indicator that traders see is the “maximum pain” price. This is the strike price that causes the maximum number of options (both put and call) to be worthless and, in theory, the largest financial loss for option owners.
“The biggest pain price on Friday was $102,000 with a Put/Call ratio of 0.73,” Péquignot said. This suggests a potential gravitational pull towards the $102,000 level as the expiration date approaches.
Volatility will be reduced, but caution remains
Despite the looming expiration date, market volatility shows signs of calm.
The implicit volatility of Bitcoin measured by the Deribit DVOL index fell to 38% from the 50% level seen in April.
According to Péquignot, this could indicate that “the market is increasingly confident in the role of macrohedging in cryptocurrency.”
However, put call skew analysis shows that there is no clear directional bias among traders in the short term, indicating a state of market neutrality.
Péquignot emphasizes that the $105,000 level of Bitcoin is crucial from a technical standpoint, suggesting that “technology suggests caution if support fails.”
He also said, “The low open interest in Perps (a permanent future) and the implications of a rather depressed Bitcoin volatility and skew indicate limited expectations for a sharp price movement that enters the expiration date on Friday.”
Crypto stocks show a variety of performance
In the stock market, several crypto-related stocks were able to calculate their earnings on Thursday.
Core Scientific (Corz) is an outstanding performer, surged by over 33% following a report in the Wall Street Journal, suggesting that Bitcoin Miners could soon be acquired by AI Hyperscaler CoreWeave (CRWV).
Other notable gains include Circle (CRCL), Coinbase (Coin), Riot Platforms (Riot), and Hut 8 (Hut). In contrast, the strategy (MSTR) fell by almost 1%.
Stablecoins like USDT and USDC have recently dominated US headlines, but thanks to the blockbuster IPO of Genius Act and Circle (CRCL), the quiet and equally important strategic adoption of these assets is reshaping Asian cross-border finance.
Behind the scenes, Stablecoins already play a key role in financial plumbing in the region.
Asian banks are increasingly watching Stab Love Coin not only as a guessing asset class, but also as a defensive tool to protect potential deposits and protect against lost trading revenue.
In a recent interview with Coindesk, Amy Zhang, Asia Head of Fireblocks, explained that major banks in South Korea, Japan and Hong Kong are actively investigating the creation of their own local currencies to mitigate these emerging threats.
“If I’m not one of the bank’s bank circles or tethers in the bank, am I going to lose my deposit?” Zhang told Coindesk, clarifying the core concerns driving this exploration.
“That’s a huge risk for the bank.”
This strategic consideration often highlights the deeper, more utility-centric integration of digital assets unfolding in the East, away from the glare of Western market speculation.
