Yeliz Akmaca 
Today, all eyes in the crypto market are fixed on a single focal point. Roughly $3 billion worth of Bitcoin and Ethereum options are expiring at 08:00 UTC on Deribit. Coming right after the latest liquidation wave, this major settlement is once again stress-testing the market’s fragile balance.
In the short term, prices look calm. But derivatives data suggests this quiet feels a bit forced.
Max pain sits higher, sentiment still leans lower
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $66,372. Total open interest exceeds $2.53 billion, while the max-pain level stands near $74,000.
On the Ethereum side, the picture is similar. Price is hovering near $1,950, notional open interest is roughly $425 million, and max pain sits around $2,100.
In theory, this implies a meaningful portion of the market would benefit if prices drift higher toward those max-pain levels. In practice, things aren’t that simple. Options sentiment remains cautious.
The rebound following last week’s sharp sell-off hasn’t fully repaired trader psychology.
Put skew still dominates: downside protection hasn’t faded
Derivatives analytics firm Laevitas notes that Bitcoin risk reversals remain in negative territory despite some recovery. One-week and one-month 25-delta RR readings sit near −13 and −11 vols, respectively.
What does that mean? Simply put, traders are still willing to pay up for downside insurance. Put premiums remain elevated. That keeps the idea of “more downside is possible” very much alive.
Risk reversals are often used to cut through the noise. Right now, the signal is clear: fear hasn’t fully left the room.
Fragile equilibrium after the liquidation shock
Last week’s drop below $70,000 in Bitcoin triggered a cascade of liquidations and one of the sharpest shifts toward put demand seen in years. According to Deribit analysts, it marked one of the most extreme skew moves in recent memory.
Prices later bounced back toward the $67K zone. But events like this leave scars. Trader behavior changes. Risk appetite pulls back for a while. What we’re seeing now fits that pattern.
Yes, some players have started rotating back into call options as volatility cools from panic levels. Still, that shift remains fragile.
Deribit openly describes the market as sitting at a “critical inflection point.”
Institutions remain cautious on the medium term
Options flow tracked by Greeks.live shows put dominance persisting in Bitcoin derivatives.
More than $1 billion in BTC put options traded today, accounting for roughly 37% of total volume. Most of that activity is concentrated in out-of-the-money strikes between $60,000 and $65,000.
That detail matters. Positions like these are typically opened for medium-term protection rather than short-term trading. According to Greeks.live analysts, institutional players appear to be pricing in a weaker market structure over the next one to two months.
Surface calm, deeper defensiveness.
Will expiry ease pressure — or light the fuse?
Expiries of this size can sometimes create short-term “gravitational” effects on price, especially around strikes with heavy open interest.
After today’s settlement, two paths stand out.
First, the release of options pressure could allow markets to breathe a little and head into the weekend on steadier footing.
Second, unwinding hedges could just as easily spark a fresh volatility wave.
Which one plays out? Derivatives data doesn’t offer a clean answer yet. Short-dated call interest is improving, but medium-term put demand remains strong. That split usually defines uncertain markets.
Sometimes silence is just silence. Sometimes it’s the gap before the next move. This weekend may tell which one it is.
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