Will Crypto Markets Tank Further When $4.7B Bitcoin Options Expire Today? 

Around 58,000 Bitcoin options contracts will expire on Friday, Feb. 28, and they have a notional value of roughly $4.7 billion.

This week’s expiry event is larger than usual because it is the end of the month. However, the impact on spot markets is likely to be minimal as they’re already reeling from US President Trump’s trade war.

Bitcoin Options Expiry

This week’s big batch of Bitcoin options contracts has a put/call ratio of 0.71, meaning that there are slightly more call (long) contracts expiring than puts (shorts).

Moreover, open interest (OI), or the value or number of BTC options contracts yet to expire, still remains highest at the $120,000 strike price, which is $1.5 billion, according to Deribit.

There is also around $1 billion in OI at the $100,000 and $110,000 strike prices. Bearish sentiment is also seeping back as $800,000 in OI currently sits at the $80,000 strike price, which is where the asset stands now.

Crypto derivatives provider Greeks Live said the team was “predominantly bearish,” with traders watching $82,000 as a “critical support level that must hold to maintain the high timeframe trend.” However, that line has been broken to the downside as of press time.

“There’s significant concern about continued downside, with many members discussing the rapid 17% decline over three days and debating whether recent selling is controlled or indicative of a broader market shift.”

Technical analysis suggests if the price closes below the 2024 volume weighted average price (VWAP) bands, “the higher timeframe trend would be ‘cooked’ and could lead to $77,000 to $72,000 levels,” warned Greeks.

Around 526,000 Ethereum contracts are also expiring today, with a notional value of $1.14 billion and a put/call ratio of 0.52. This brings Friday’s combined crypto options expiry notional value to around $5.8 billion.

Crypto Markets Tank

This week’s market rout has continued into Friday, with total capitalization dumping a further 6% on the day to $2.76 trillion. It has now fallen through longer-term support and could return to October levels.

Bitcoin dumped 5% in a fall to $80,200 during Asian trading on Friday morning. The asset has now lost 18% in a week, and its correction has deepened to 25% from all-time highs. The last time BTC was below $80,000 was on Nov. 10.

Meanwhile, Ethereum has dumped 8% to its lowest level for more than a year, hitting $2,150 on Friday morning as its weekly losses amount to a whopping 22%.

The altcoins were a sea of red with them all bleeding out by similar amounts at the time of writing.