Bitcoin Rally Slows as $15.6 Billion Options Expiry Hits—XRP and Solana Keep Climbing
Bitcoin eased about 0.9% to roughly $83,600 on Friday after reaching an intraday high near $87,000, as $15.6 billion of Bitcoin options expired on Deribit and dealers unwound hedges. Technicals remain constructive for BTC, while XRP and Solana outperformed the wider market over the past week.
Why It Matters
The options expiry and consequent reduction in open interest and volume illustrate how market mechanics can cause short-term price wobble without necessarily reversing a trend; upcoming U.S. inflation and jobs data could nonetheless shift Fed rate expectations and market direction quickly.
Key Facts
- Bitcoin price move: Down ~0.9% to around $83,600; intraday high near $87,000 earlier in the week
- Options expiry: $15.6 billion in Bitcoin options expired on Deribit
- Open interest and volume: Open interest down 14.39%; 24-hour trading volume down 13.68%
- Liquidations (24h): $161.96 million longs liquidated vs $156.1 million shorts
- Fed action: Fed raised rates 25 bps to 3.75%-4% on Sept. 16; median dot at 4.1% through end of 2027 per post-meeting dot plot; remarks and data have since pushed odds of an October hike to ~75% (CME FedWatch) and 68.5% (Myriad Markets)
Bitcoin pulled back modestly on Friday, trading near $83,600 after topping out around $87,000 earlier in the week — a level not seen in months. The retreat followed the expiration of $15.6 billion in Bitcoin options on Deribit; market participants said dealers frequently unwind hedges after such expiries, a mechanical flow that can produce short-term volatility without necessarily undermining the wider trend. Supporting that view, both open interest and 24-hour trading volume declined sharply, falling 14.39% and 13.68% respectively.
Chart-based indicators still point to a bullish setup for BTC. The 50-day moving average remains above the 200-day average, a configuration often called a golden cross. Liquidation data showed roughly balanced deleveraging across directions in the past 24 hours — about $161.96 million of long positions and $156.1 million of shorts — suggesting a reset of leverage rather than a one-sided blowout.
Macro developments remain an important backdrop. The Federal Reserve increased its policy rate by 25 basis points on Sept. 16 to a 3.75%–4% range and continued buying short-term Treasury bills to support bank reserves. Since then, comments from Fed officials and a higher-than-expected core PCE print have lifted market odds of another rate hike in October, a dynamic that could affect risk assets if expectations shift further.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs continued to attract inflows, though Friday's $299.09 million haul was smaller than earlier single-day totals, signaling cooling but still positive investor demand. The total crypto market capitalization sits near $2.87 trillion, down from the above-$3 trillion peak reached earlier in the week, and the Fear & Greed Index has eased from 79 to 72 — still in "greed" territory.
Not all major tokens moved with Bitcoin. XRP and Solana outperformed over the seven-day window, with XRP up about 15.45% and trading near $1.58 (roughly a $99 billion market cap), and Solana up about 9.33% at around $119.84 (about $70 billion market cap). XRP has seen continued ETF inflows following a multi-day streak in late August, while Solana’s gains come amid an awaited Alpenglow upgrade that would reduce transaction finality and ongoing inflows into spot Solana ETFs from several issuers. Traders will be watching upcoming U.S. data — September PCE on Sept. 30 and the September jobs report on Oct. 2 — for potential catalysts that could reset rate expectations and market direction.
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