Approximately 37,000 Bitcoin options contracts are set to expire on Friday, December 5, carrying a notional value of roughly $3.4 billion. This expiry event is considerably smaller than recent ones, suggesting a limited impact on spot markets, which have shown some stabilization following a sell-off and subsequent recovery on Monday.
Resumption of US government economic data releases, particularly concerning the labor market and employment figures, indicates a somewhat subdued outlook. This trend is perceived positively for Federal Reserve interest rate cut expectations, with the probability of a 0.25% rate cut on December 10 now standing at 87%, according to CME futures.
Bitcoin Options Expiry Details
The current batch of Bitcoin options contracts features a put/call ratio of 0.94, indicating a near-even balance between long and short positions. According to Coinglass, the "max pain" point for this expiry is situated around $91,000.
Open interest (OI), representing the value or number of Bitcoin options contracts yet to expire, is most concentrated at the $100,000 strike price, with $2.7 billion in OI on Deribit. Additionally, there is nearly $2 billion in OI targeting strike prices of $80,000 and $85,000, areas of interest for short sellers. Across all exchanges, total BTC options OI is reported at $55 billion by Coinglass.
The options market has experienced significant development, driven by a notable increase in institutional participation throughout 2025, as reported by Levitas on Thursday.
Deribit's Bitcoin options saw their highest monthly volume in October 2025, with 1.49 million contracts traded, followed by November with 1.33 million contracts. The year-to-date volume for Bitcoin options, excluding December, has reached 10.27 million contracts, marking a 36% increase compared to 2024.
In 2025, the options market has continued to develop as institutional participation has grown significantly. On Deribit, BTC options recorded their highest monthly volume in October 2025 at 1.49M contracts, followed by November at 1.33M. Year-to-date BTC options volume stands… pic.twitter.com/AlBVIBuO6F
Earlier this week, crypto options provider Greeks Live noted a cautiously bullish bias in the market, stating that traders are "calling bottoms and expecting upside, though sentiment is tempered by frustration over choppy price action and false moves."
"Key focus remains on whether current levels around $95k-$100k represent the final bottom, with traders watching BTC term structure and put skew showing bearish positioning despite bullish calls."
In addition to the Bitcoin options expiring today, approximately 210,000 Ethereum contracts are also expiring, with a notional value of $667 million. The max pain for Ethereum options is at $3,050, and the put/call ratio stands at 0.78. Total ETH options OI across all exchanges is approximately $11.3 billion. This brings the combined notional value of crypto options expiring today to around $4 billion.
Spot Market Outlook
Crypto markets have experienced a slight retreat over the past day, with the total market capitalization falling by 1.7% to $3.23 trillion. Bitcoin has been unable to break through resistance at $93,000 and was trading below this level at the time of writing. Ether's resistance remains at $3,200, with the asset trading at $3,177 currently.
Altcoins are facing more significant declines, with heavier losses observed in XRP, Solana, and Hyperliquid.