Bitcoin Options Lead to $16.6B Crypto Expiration in Q3

Bitcoin and Ethereum Options worth almost $16.6 billion for 2026’s third quarter expiry have been built up, with calls outnumbering puts on both markets.

As per Coinbase MarketsBitcoin is responsible for approximately $14.73billion in notional values, while Ethereum accounts for around $1.92billion. In its market update of September 15, 186,000 BTC and 756,100 ETH were open.

Contracts for quarterly payments DeribitOptions expire at the end of each quarter on the Friday before 08:00 UTC. According to the official policy of expiry, 2026’s third quarter settlement will take place on Friday 25th September.

Bitcoin Options account for the majority of Q3 expiry

Bitcoin accounts for close to 89% the total notional reported by Coinbase Markets. BTC puts-to-calls ratio currently stands at 0.52 indicating that call and put interest are equal in terms of current position.

There are several different levels of exposure for strikes. Coinbase Markets There was a large concentration of BTC call interest around $70,000. However, there is still a significant call open-interest between $85,000 and $100,000. The setup was described by the company as “tilted toward higher strikes.”

Bitcoin’s maximum-pain was $72,000. The maximum pain is the point at which the most options would be worthless if the model was used. The maximum pain does not refer to a set settlement level or support price.

The same distinction, as reported by crypto.news earlier this year, was also made in a $6.4 Billion transaction Bitcoin options expiry in August, A low put-to call ratio and maximum pain level indicated positioning, but did not affect Bitcoin’s price.

According to the data available, Bitcoin’s price remained around $78,000 during trading on Sept. 15. Investing.com historical data BTC traded at a close of $77,900 in the morning session. This is above the maximum-pain limit of $72,000 and lower than the higher upside targets, which are $85,000, $90,000,000 and $100,000.

The September derivatives positions had indicated a demand for upward exposure prior to the quarterly settlement. Bitfinex analysts, as reported by crypto.news, had found that downside protection was concentrated in the range of $68,000-$75,000 and call positions favored movements above $80,000.

Ethereum options are concentrated at the $3,000 strike

Ethereum is a lesser part of the total notional value but has a higher number of open contracts. Coinbase Markets Reports indicate that there are approximately 756,100 contracts for ETH option with a notional value of $1.92 Billion and a ratio put to call of 0.57.

Coinbase Markets reported that there were approximately 43,000 Ethereum calls at the $3,000 level. There were some reports that incorrectly stated the level as $30, however the Coinbase Markets article states $3,000

Ethereum’s highest possible level of risk is around $2,200. ETH was trading around $2.510 on Sept. 15, according to Investing.com market dataThe spot should be left above the maximum-pain number and under the strike of $3,000 with the highest call concentration.

Recent technical forecasts have also mentioned the $3,000 level. According to related Crypto.news articles, analysts stated that a close of the week above the $2.550 level could pave the way for a move towards $3,000. It is only a forecast and not a prediction of where Ethereum’s price will be at expiry.

Even though calls are more expensive than puts, this does not mean that prices will be higher.

Coinbase described the Q3 set-up as favouring higher strikes, because open interest for calls is greater than open interest for puts in Bitcoin and Ethereum. In terms of outstanding contracts, the 0.52 BTC/ 0.57 Ethereum ratios show that there is a numerical bias towards calls.

The fact that a trader is heavily positioned in the call side does not necessarily mean they expect prices to increase. Options are available to buy or sell, but professional traders will often combine the two through strategies such as spreads, volatility, hedges, and volatility strategy.

Crypto.news reported the same issue in August. Bitcoin expiry, when open interest data showed bullish-looking positioning But did not disclose whether or not each call was a long-directional position.

Crypto derivatives have seen a steady increase in activity. According to Deribit’s monthly statisticsThe total turnover of Bitcoin options in August was $56.13 Billion, while Ethereum option turnover was $7.14 Billion. BTC reached 775.731 contracts of options during August. This compares to more than 3.23million ETH contracts.

Recent coverage has noted that the September event is more significant than previous quarter’s end events. Crypto.news reported The June quarter expiry contains approximately $9.3 Billion in Bitcoin and $1.6 Billion in Ethereum options.

Coinbase Markets’ current position for Q3 is based on 186,000 BTC contract.

The expiration of the Sept. 25, 2009 law follows major U.S. political events

Before the quarter-end options are settled, traders will have to deal with several U.S. policies that can affect volatility and crypto prices. The Senate is scheduled to vote on the CLARITY Bill on Sept. 15 while the Federal Reserve announces its next monetary decision on Sept. 16

Bitcoin’s macro-environment is still dominated by rising Treasury yields, and the expectation of another Federal Reserve rate hike. The major factors traders watched before the Fed meeting in September were spot ETF flow, interest-rate expectation and government bond returns.

The separate Crypto.news Report Bitcoin’s recent trading range around $78,000 to $82,000 before the decisionTreasury yields, and the spot market demand are driving markets in two different directions.

Below is a list of the most recent posts. Deribit’s official contract rulesThe quarterly Bitcoin and Ethereum option expires at 08:00 GMT on the final Friday in each of the following months: March, June and September. Current Q3 contracts are settled by September 25, 2018.