Bitcoin's $16 billion quarterly options settlement arrives with a 'call-heavy' book
Nearly $15.9 billion of bitcoin options and $2.1 billion of ether options are set to expire on Friday at 08:00 UTC on Deribit, representing one of the platform's largest quarterly expiries of the year. The bitcoin book is call-heavy, with more than half of the $9.4 billion in call notional currently in the money, while puts are largely out of the money.
Why It Matters
The expiration could remove dealer hedging flows that have supported recent upside in bitcoin, potentially increasing short-term volatility and resetting the near-term trading range for BTC. Market participants will also watch whether positions roll into October and December expiries, which can influence post-expiry dynamics.
Key Facts
- Total bitcoin options expiring: $15.9 billion
- Total ether options expiring: $2.1 billion
- Expiration time: 08:00 UTC, Friday (Sept. 25)
- BTC open interest on Deribit (approx.): $43.5 billion
- Put/call open-interest ratio for September contract: 0.69
Deribit is processing a substantial quarterly options expiry on Friday, with about $15.9 billion of bitcoin options and $2.1 billion of ether options scheduled to settle at 08:00 UTC. The bitcoin component alone will eliminate roughly 37% of Deribit’s outstanding BTC open interest, which stood at about $43.5 billion at the time of reporting. Deribit’s CEO Luuk Strijers characterized the September contract as skewed toward calls, reflecting bullish positioning.
Open-interest concentration is notable across several call strikes. Roughly $9.4 billion of the bitcoin notional is in call contracts, and Deribit reports that 55% of that amount is in the money. The $70,000 strike holds the most contracts, and calls at strikes including $85k, $90k, $95k, and $100k are prominent, while put structures are largely anchored at $60k, $70k, and $75k according to Deribit’s commercial officer Jean-David Péquignot. Overall, about one-third of the full $15.9 billion book is currently in the money.
Traders and dealers closely monitor such expiries because of their potential to alter hedging flows. Deribit staff said dealer hedging of short call exposure likely contributed to bitcoin’s recent rally through the $80,000–$87,000 range: dealers short calls typically buy spot as prices rise to maintain hedge ratios, which can add upward pressure. Once the quarterly expiry settles and the associated gamma and hedging flows dissipate, that pinning effect can fade and short-term volatility may rise, allowing the market’s prevailing range to reset.
Market participants will also watch price behavior near $85,000 and how existing positions are rolled into later expiries in October and December. Rollover activity—closing or offsetting current contracts while opening similar ones in later months—can shape liquidity and directional pressure after the September settlement. Observers note the so-called maximum pain for this expiry sits near $75,000, a level Deribit described as a “soft magnet” for price into expiry, though that concept is debated among traders.
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