TLDR
Crypto options expiry this week occurred Friday 26 Dec at 8:00 am (UTC).
- Size was over $27 billion across Bitcoin and Ethereum options, the largest on record per a market update.
- Max pain sat near $95,000%%CKPROTECTED2%% for BTC and $3,000%%CKPROTECTED4%% for ETH per trader commentary.
- Post?expiry flows usually drive the next move as hedges unwind and positioning resets per the report above.
Deep Dive
1. Date and Time
The year?end monthly and Q4 batch expired Friday 26 Dec at 8:00 am (UTC) on Deribit, which sets the settlement for the weeks contracts and clears dealer hedges around that time. This weeks discussion framed the exact timing window and its impact on how options settlement constrains spot until it clears in this note.
If you monitor intraday moves, anchor decisions around the UTC expiry window; price often feels pinned before, then loosens after hedges roll off.
2. Size and Levels
This expiry was unusually large at over $27 billion notional between BTC and ETH, with BTC around $23.6 billion and ETH around $3.8 billion per the market update.
Max pain (where most options lose value) clustered near $95,000%%CKPROTECTED2%% for BTC and $3,000%%CKPROTECTED4%% for ETH, which helps explain recent price pinning into expiry per trader commentary.
Into expiry, prices often gravitate toward these levels as dealers balance risk. After expiry, the gravity weakens and price can move more freely.
3. Why It Matters Now
Large expiries compress volatility ahead of settlement and then often release it as dealers unwind hedges and institutions roll into new maturities. Analysts flagged that post?expiry flows tend to matter more than the immediate print because positioning resets drive the next phase per the report.
Expect attention on whether December puts were closed or rolled and where new call concentration shifts, since those choices set the near?term path for spot.
If you want to gauge direction, watch fresh January positioning and spot volumes rather than the exact expiry price; that re?tilts the markets bias.
Conclusion
Options expiry cleared Friday 26 Dec at 8:00 am (UTC), with record size and max?pain levels helping to pin price into the event. The higher?value takeaway is to track the post?expiry repositioning in January because hedging flows usually reset and can re?open volatility once the calendar overhang is gone.
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