Headline: Deribit reclaims top spot in Bitcoin options open interest at $31.3B ahead of $6.25B expiry
Deribit’s Bitcoin options open interest climbed to $31.3 billion on May 21, overtaking BlackRock’s IBIT options at roughly $27 billion as the market braces for a large May 29 expiry. The reversal follows a brief April stretch in which IBIT — the ETF options launched in November 2024 — topped Deribit for the first time.
What’s at stake
- Expiry size: 80,535 contracts worth about $6.25 billion will settle on Deribit on May 29.
- Key strikes: The largest put concentration sits at the $75,000 strike ($394 million); the most significant call exposure is the $80,000 strike ($532 million). Traders are also ramping into $82,000 calls ahead of the settlement.
- Market bias: A put/call ratio of 0.86 points to a modestly bullish skew among option positions.
Max pain and price magnetism
Max pain — the strike where option buyers would lose most and sellers would gain most — is roughly $2,000 below Bitcoin’s current price near $77,000, putting it near $75,000. As expiry approaches, market makers’ hedging activity can nudge price toward that level, creating a “soft magnet” that can influence short-term moves.
Mixed signals from the derivatives market
Even as Bitcoin funding rates on Deribit have surged bullish, options flows are sending mixed messages: short-dated activity hints at caution while longer-dated positioning remains constructive. That split reflects differing trader horizons and the contrast between crypto-native derivatives and ETF options — IBIT contracts tend to have longer average maturities, implying different investor profiles.
Why this matters
The outcome of the May 29 settlement will determine which side suffers the bigger paper losses: a break above $80,000 would punish significant put holders, while a drift toward $75,000 would hit call-heavy positions harder. Markets have revisited the $75,000 battleground repeatedly in 2026 — and the interplay between ETF and crypto-native options shows how quickly positioning can shift between venues.
Expect heightened volatility into the expiry. Crypto.news will continue tracking live price action and derivatives positioning as the settlement approaches.
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