When are BTC expiries this week?

TLDR

Bitcoin (BTC) options had their major year?end expiry on Friday, 26 Dec at 8:00 am (UTC), the weekly/monthly/quarterly stack on Deribit. See timing in this report.

1. Size was about $2324 billion for BTC options, a record for the market per this coverage.
2. Max pain was near $96,000%%CKPROTECTED2%%, with calls stacked higher and puts lower per this analysis.
3. Expect elevated volatility into and after expiry as hedges unwind, noted across multiple market updates.

Deep Dive

1. Friday 8:00 am UTC

The year?end BTC options expiry price was set at 8:00 am (UTC) on Friday, 26 Dec. Several outlets highlight that the weeks key settlement hinged on that time, with Deribit carrying the majority of open interest and CME a smaller share. The timing detail is documented in this report.

2. Record Size And Positioning

Multiple sources pegged BTC options notional expiring around $2324 billion (combined BTC and ETH roughly $2728.5 billion) for the year?end stack, making it one of the largest on record. Positioning skew showed more calls than puts and a max pain near $96,000%%CKPROTECTED7%% per the coverage and data snapshots in these articles: size and context and max pain and strikes.

3. Volatility Around Expiry

Market commentary consistently flagged the likelihood of volatility into and after the event, given thin holiday liquidity and the unwind of dealer hedges. This is reflected across week?of articles, for example this market update.

Conclusion

The weeks key BTC options expiry occurred Friday at 8:00 am (UTC), with record notional and a max pain near $96,000. The combination of positioning and holiday?thin liquidity tends to amplify post?expiry moves. If you are timing entries, watch how price behaves after the settlement window as hedging flows fade.