Bitcoin (BTC) Options: Max Pain, Expiry and Open Interest
Where Bitcoin (BTC) options open interest sits by strike and expiry, max pain, implied volatility and the move options price in, in charts.
Summary
Bitcoin options outlook
$36.49B in open interest across 13 expiries; next expiry Oct 6.
Options outlook
Call side heavier
Put/call 0.64 · 259,498 calls and 165,823 puts in BTC · 13 expiries
- Call wall
- $95,000
- +10.73%
- Put wall
- $80,000
- −6.75%
- Dealer gamma (per 1%)
- $131M
- Positive: slows moves
- Skew (25Δ, 30d)
- +1.6
- Puts richer
- Total open interest
- $36.49B
- 425,321 BTC
- 24h volume
- $3.99B
- By volume (24h): 0.85
- Implied / realized
- 34.7% / 37.4%
- Options cheap to realized
- Next expiry
- Oct 6
- 11,851 BTC · $1.02B
Bitcoin options commentary
The largest call open interest above price sits at $95,000 (+10.73%) and the largest put open interest below price at $80,000 (−6.75%); price trades between these two walls.
Max pain for the Oct 9 expiry is $84,500, 1.51% below price.
Options price a move of about ±$1,152 (1.34%) over the next 24 hours: $84,640 - $86,944. That is narrower than the average daily move of the last 30 days (1.96%): the market expects a calm day.
The put/call ratio is 0.64: more calls than puts are open.
Estimated net dealer gamma is $131M per 1% move: positive gamma, where dealer hedging tends to slow price moves. The gamma flip is at $84,993.
The next expiry is Oct 6 at 08:00 UTC: 11,851 BTC ($1.02B) of open interest expires, and its max pain is $85,750.
Based on options data computed automatically; not investment advice. Totals are the sum of the public sources reached (4 sources). They are approximate and can differ from headline expiry figures in the news.
Option levels
- Call wall+10.73%$95,000
- 1 week ↑+4.40%$89,565
- 1 day ↑+1.34%$86,944
- Index price$85,792
- Gamma flip−0.93%$84,993
- 1 day ↓−1.34%$84,640
- Max pain−1.51%$84,500
- 1 week ↓−4.40%$82,020
- Put wall−6.75%$80,000
Open interest
Bitcoin options open interest
425,321 BTC in total ($36.49B): 259,498 calls, 165,823 puts.
Bitcoin open interest by strike
- Calls
- Puts
- Price
The largest call cluster is at $95,000 (30.3K BTC) and the largest put cluster at $80,000 (10.9K BTC).
Show the data as a table
| Strike | Calls | Puts |
|---|---|---|
| $98,000 | 3.8K | 35 |
| $97,000 | 148 | 0 |
| $96,000 | 4.3K | 60 |
| $95,000 | 30.3K | 434 |
| $94,000 | 4.2K | 48 |
| $93,000 | 1.1K | 11 |
| $92,000 | 7.8K | 91 |
| $91,000 | 2.7K | 17 |
| $90,000 | 28.8K | 1K |
| $89,500 | 201 | 0 |
| $89,000 | 5.3K | 141 |
| $88,750 | 1.9 | 0 |
| $88,500 | 494 | 2.7 |
| $88,250 | 7.2 | 0 |
| $88,000 | 10K | 3.1K |
| $87,750 | 4 | 0.05 |
| $87,500 | 646 | 83 |
| $87,250 | 58 | 11 |
| $87,000 | 3.9K | 1K |
| $86,750 | 87 | 13 |
| $86,500 | 710 | 346 |
| $86,250 | 112 | 51 |
| $86,000 | 5K | 1.9K |
| $85,750 | 92 | 197 |
| $85,500 | 281 | 1.2K |
| $85,250 | 68 | 277 |
| $85,000 | 8.6K | 4.3K |
| $84,750 | 21 | 231 |
| $84,500 | 100 | 758 |
| $84,250 | 5.8 | 156 |
| $84,000 | 5.1K | 5.1K |
| $83,500 | 27 | 553 |
| $83,000 | 1.2K | 3.4K |
| $82,500 | 3.4 | 423 |
| $82,000 | 4.9K | 3.9K |
| $81,500 | 0 | 37 |
| $81,000 | 1K | 3.4K |
| $80,000 | 13.7K | 10.9K |
| $79,000 | 519 | 2.6K |
| $78,000 | 2.9K | 7K |
| $77,450 | 0 | 0.01 |
| $77,400 | 0 | 0.01 |
| $77,200 | 0 | 0.01 |
| $77,000 | 392 | 1.5K |
| $76,000 | 1.9K | 4.5K |
| $75,000 | 3.7K | 8K |
| $74,000 | 997 | 3.3K |
| $73,000 | 607 | 2.4K |
Bitcoin open interest by expiry
- Calls
- Puts
The largest expiry is Oct 30 (Monthly): 141,157 BTC, 33.2% of all open interest.
Bitcoin 24-hour volume by expiry
- Calls
- Puts
46,562 BTC traded over the last 24 hours; put/call by volume 0.85.
Bitcoin put/call ratio by expiry
- Put/call (open interest)
- Put/call (24h volume)
Put/call is highest for the Nov 6 expiry (1.82) and lowest for Oct 30 (0.47).
Bitcoin largest options contracts
| Contract | Open interest (BTC) | Notional ($) | Distance from price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calls $95,000Oct 30 · Monthly | 24,841 | $2.13B | +10.73% |
| Calls $90,000Oct 30 · Monthly | 15,097 | $1.30B | +4.90% |
| Calls $100,000Oct 30 · Monthly | 13,890 | $1.19B | +16.56% |
| Calls $80,000Dec 25 · Quarterly | 8,957 | $768.43M | −6.75% |
| Calls $100,000Dec 25 · Quarterly | 7,316 | $627.62M | +16.56% |
| Puts $60,000Dec 25 · Quarterly | 7,127 | $611.41M | −30.06% |
| Calls $120,000Dec 25 · Quarterly | 6,098 | $523.20M | +39.87% |
| Puts $40,000Dec 25 · Quarterly | 5,330 | $457.23M | −53.38% |
Totals are the sum of the public sources reached (4 sources). They are approximate and can differ from headline expiry figures in the news. Open interest in the glossary
Max pain
Bitcoin max pain and settlement payout
The max pain the S/R table reads is $84,500 (Oct 9 expiry, −1.51% from price).
Bitcoin settlement payout curve
- Total payout
- To call holders
- To put holders
- Max pain
If price settles at $85,792, option holders collect about $9.9M; 10.7K BTC of calls and 14.8K BTC of puts expire worthless.
For the Oct 9 expiry the payout is lowest at $84,500 ($8.4M): that is max pain. At the price of $85,792 it is $9.9M.
Bitcoin max pain by expiry
- Max pain
- Index price
Max pain is below the price for 9 of 13 expiries and above it for 3.
Example: if the smallest total payout falls at $84,500, then $84,500 is the max pain price for that expiry.
Volatility
Bitcoin implied volatility and skew
30-day implied volatility 34.7%; realized volatility over the last 30 days 37.4%.
Bitcoin implied volatility by expiry
- At-the-money IV
- 25-delta put IV
- 25-delta call IV
At-the-money implied volatility is 18.8% for the front expiry and 34.7% at 30 days. Later expiries are priced more volatile; this is the usual slope.
Implied and realized volatility
- 30-day ATM implied
- 34.7%
- Realized, last 30 days
- 37.4%
- Difference (points)
- −2.6
- 25Δ skew, 30 days (points)
- +1.6
Options price in less movement than the last 30 days delivered.
Bitcoin implied volatility smile
- Oct 30
- Oct 8
- Dec 25
- Sep 24, 2027
- Up to four expiries
For the Oct 30 expiry implied volatility is 37.6% 10% below the price and 35.2% 10% above it: downside protection costs more than upside exposure.
Bitcoin chance of ending above each strike
From option prices, the chance the Oct 30 expiry settles above $95,000 is about 12%, and below $80,000 about 24%. An estimate, not a promise.
Bitcoin options greeks
| Strike | Implied volatility | Call delta | Put delta | Gamma | Vega ($) | Theta ($/day) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $89,000 | 33.6% | 0.35 | -0.65 | 0.000050 | $82.23 | −$56.78 |
| $88,000 | 33.5% | 0.40 | -0.60 | 0.000052 | $85.64 | −$58.94 |
| $87,000 | 33.5% | 0.45 | -0.55 | 0.000053 | $87.76 | −$60.44 |
| $86,000 | 33.5% | 0.51 | -0.49 | 0.000054 | $88.36 | −$60.79 |
| $85,000 | 33.7% | 0.56 | -0.44 | 0.000053 | $87.38 | −$60.47 |
| $84,000 | 33.8% | 0.61 | -0.39 | 0.000051 | $84.84 | −$58.88 |
| $83,000 | 34.0% | 0.66 | -0.34 | 0.000049 | $80.87 | −$56.46 |
From Black-Scholes at each strike's own implied volatility (rate 0), per one-coin contract. Vega is per volatility point, theta the value lost per day.
Bitcoin skew by expiry
- Puts richer
- Calls richer
25-delta skew for the Oct 8 expiry is −2.5 points. Calls cost more than puts: demand for upside exposure.
Bitcoin volatility surface
| Expiry | −30% | −20% | −10% | −5% | ATM | +5% | +10% | +20% | +30% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 6 | 61.2% | 50.1% | 18.1% | 45.6% | 36.6% | ||||
| Oct 7 | 59.7% | 38.1% | 26.4% | 40.8% | |||||
| Oct 8 | 52.6% | 36.3% | 29.7% | 38.3% | 45.7% | ||||
| Oct 9 | 76.2% | 50.4% | 35.4% | 31.2% | 37.7% | 45.5% | |||
| Oct 16 | 38.3% | 33.0% | 31.9% | 34.0% | 37.1% | ||||
| Oct 23 | 37.3% | 33.6% | 32.2% | 33.1% | 35.4% | 41.7% | |||
| Oct 30 | 61.2% | 48.6% | 37.6% | 34.6% | 33.5% | 33.8% | 35.2% | 40.7% | 47.9% |
| Nov 6 | 56.0% | 46.6% | 39.1% | 36.4% | 34.9% | 34.8% | 35.8% | 39.6% | |
| Nov 27 | 53.2% | 44.2% | 37.4% | 36.6% | 35.9% | 35.7% | 36.1% | 37.8% | 40.6% |
| Dec 25 | 49.1% | 42.4% | 38.6% | 37.3% | 36.7% | 36.4% | 36.5% | 37.5% | 39.3% |
The highest implied volatility is 76.2%: Oct 9 expiry, −20% from price.
Levels
Bitcoin options levels and expected move
The largest call and put clusters near the price, max pain and the move options price in. For Bitcoin and Ethereum these levels come from the same snapshot as the support and resistance table.
Price and expected-move bands
- Daily close
- Expected-move band
- Call wall
- Put wall
- Max pain
Bitcoin: daily closes and the 1-day, 1-week and monthly expiry bands drawn from the snapshot price, with the call wall, put wall and max pain. The bands are centered on the snapshot price and do not move with the live price.
| Expected move bands around the snapshot price | Expected move |
|---|---|
| 1 day | $84,640 - $86,944 |
| 1 week | $82,020 - $89,565 |
| Monthly expiry · Oct 30 | $78,367 - $93,218 |
| Quarterly expiry · Dec 25 | $71,038 - $100,546 |
Call wall
$95,000+10.73% from price · If price rises, the first large options cluster is here.
The strike above price with the most call open interest.
Next candidates: $90,000, $92,000
Concentrated Concentrated: one source holds most of this strike
Open the support and resistance tablePut wall
$80,000−6.75% from price · If price falls, the first large options cluster is here.
The strike below price with the most put open interest.
Next candidates: $75,000, $78,000
Concentrated Concentrated: one source holds most of this strike
Open the support and resistance tableMax pain
$84,500−1.51% from price · Oct 9 expiry: the first with more than 3 days left.
The price at which option buyers would lose the most, for the nearest weekly or monthly expiry.
In the support and resistance table: Support 2Expected move
±$1,1521 day: $84,640 - $86,944
1 week: $82,020 - $89,565
The range the market prices from implied volatility.
In the support and resistance table: Resistance 1Bitcoin expected move by expiry
Options price in about ±$7,426 (8.7%) to the monthly expiry (Oct 30).
Dealer gamma
Bitcoin dealer gamma
An estimate of the hedging options sellers need. Assumption: dealers are long the open calls and short the open puts.
Bitcoin dealer gamma by strike
- Positive gamma
- Negative gamma
- Gamma flip
Estimated net dealer gamma is $131M per 1% move: positive gamma, where dealer hedging tends to slow price moves. The gamma flip is at $84,993.
Gamma at a glance
- Net gamma (per 1%)
- $131M
- Gamma flip
- $84,993
- Vanna ($ per vol point)
- $59.9M
- Charm ($ per day)
- −$202M
An estimate: dealers are assumed long the open calls and short the puts; gamma, vanna and charm come from Black-Scholes at each strike's own implied volatility. It shows direction, not actual positions.
Bitcoin dealer gamma by expiry
Most of the gamma sits in the Oct 30 expiry ($151M).
History
Bitcoin options history
From our own 30-minute snapshots: open interest, put/call, volatility, skew and max pain.
Bitcoin options history
- Total
- Calls
- Puts
This chart is drawn from our own record, which started Oct 5, 2026 22:00 UTC. Once 24 hours are recorded it shows total, call and put open interest every 30 minutes.
0 of 24 hoursExpiry calendar
Bitcoin options expiry calendar
Every listed expiry with its open interest, put/call ratio and max pain. Options expire at 08:00 UTC. The next expiry is highlighted.
Expiry calendar
Scroll sideways to see all columns
| Expiry | Days left | Open interest (BTC) | Notional ($) | 24h volume (BTC) | Put/call | Max pain | Distance from price | ATM IV | Expected move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 6Daily · Next · Expiry approaching | 0.3 | 11,851 | $1.02B | 18,651 | 1.29 | $85,750 | −0.05% | 18.8% | ±$487 |
| Oct 7Daily · Expiry approaching | 1.3 | 3,554 | $304.88M | 3,883 | 0.98 | $86,000 | +0.24% | 26.4% | ±$1,368 |
| Oct 8Daily · Expiry approaching | 2.3 | 2,449 | $210.12M | 2,426 | 0.78 | $86,500 | +0.82% | 29.4% | ±$2,019 |
| Oct 9Weekly | 3.3 | 29,298 | $2.51B | 5,771 | 1.16 | $84,500 | −1.51% | 31.2% | ±$2,559 |
| Oct 16Weekly | 10 | 11,185 | $959.61M | 2,118 | 1.17 | $85,000 | −0.92% | 31.9% | ±$4,606 |
| Oct 23Weekly | 17 | 4,049 | $347.34M | 1,501 | 1.23 | $86,000 | +0.24% | 32.2% | ±$6,027 |
| Oct 30Monthly | 24 | 141,157 | $12.11B | 8,014 | 0.47 | $79,000 | −7.92% | 33.5% | ±$7,426 |
| Nov 6Weekly | 31 | 1,032 | $88.53M | 294.6 | 1.82 | $83,000 | −3.25% | 34.9% | ±$8,781 |
| Nov 27Monthly | 52 | 24,907 | $2.14B | 766.7 | 0.59 | $80,000 | −6.75% | 35.9% | ±$11,651 |
| Dec 25Quarterly | 80 | 135,897 | $11.66B | 2,401 | 0.65 | $75,000 | −12.58% | 36.7% | ±$14,754 |
| Mar 26, 2027Quarterly | 171 | 42,290 | $3.63B | 569.6 | 0.69 | $74,000 | −13.75% | 37.5% | ±$22,032 |
| Jun 25, 2027Quarterly | 262 | 14,248 | $1.22B | 143.7 | 0.52 | $66,000 | −23.07% | 38.6% | ±$28,059 |
| Sep 24, 2027Quarterly | 353 | 3,405 | $292.14M | 22 | 0.96 | $84,000 | −2.09% | 39.0% | ±$32,947 |
Max pain on rows with less than 3 days to expiry is for information; the support and resistance table uses the next expiry. Option expiry in the glossary
News
Latest expiry and options news
Recent COINOTAG stories on options expiries and positioning.
- Bitcoin (BTC) Options Open Interest Rises 0.68% to $51.74 Billion on Call-Led Positioning
- Brazil Beats US in Bitcoin (BTC) Adoption Index With $252.5 Billion Crypto Economy
- Bitcoin (BTC) Options Open Interest Falls 6.08% to $40.2B as Calls Dominate
- Michael Saylor’s 14-Part ‘Bitcoin Reformation’ Urges Institutional Adoption of Bitcoin (BTC)
How to read
How to read this page
Short definitions of every measure, with the formula behind it. None of these numbers is a forecast or a trading signal.
What is max pain?
Max pain is the price at which option buyers, taken together, would lose the most at an expiry. For each strike, the value of all calls and puts that would finish in the money is added up, and the strike with the smallest total is the max pain price. It is also called the maximum pain price. It is not a target and does not guarantee that price will move there. It matters more as expiry gets closer.
Example: if the smallest total payout falls at $84,500, then $84,500 is the max pain price for that expiry.
Call wall and put wall
The call wall is the strike above price with the largest call open interest. The put wall is the strike below price with the largest put open interest. Hedging by option sellers can slow price down or speed it up around these strikes, so they are watched as support and resistance. They are not hard barriers.
Expected move band
The band comes from implied volatility: price x volatility x square root of (days / 365). The market prices roughly a two-in-three chance that price stays inside the band. It is an estimate, not a limit, and it is anchored to the snapshot price.
Example: $85,792 x 25.7% x square root of (1 / 365) is about plus or minus $1,152, which gives a band of $84,640 - $86,944.
Put/call ratio
Open puts divided by open calls. A value above 1 means more positions on the protection side. It is not a directional signal. The open interest ratio measures accumulated positions, the volume ratio measures the last 24 hours.
Implied volatility and skew
Implied volatility (IV) is the annualized movement priced into options. At-the-money IV is read at the strike closest to price. Skew is the difference between the IV of a 25-delta put and a 25-delta call: a positive value means downside protection is more expensive than upside exposure.
What is dealer gamma?
Gamma estimates how much options sellers would have to buy or sell to stay hedged when price moves 1%. In positive gamma dealers tend to sell into rallies and buy dips, which slows moves; in negative gamma the opposite. The gamma flip is the price where the total changes sign. The figure rests on an assumption: dealers are long the open calls and short the puts.
How the data is prepared
Public options data from several sources is combined and refreshed every 30 minutes. Figures are approximate and are the sum of the sources reached, so they may not match any single market exactly. Max pain, walls, volatility and bands are all calculated from the same snapshot.
FAQ
Bitcoin options: frequently asked questions
What is max pain?
Max pain is the price at which option buyers would lose the most at an expiry, found by adding up the payout of every call and put at each strike and picking the strike with the smallest total. It is a reference level, not a price target.
When is the next Bitcoin options expiry?
The next expiry is Oct 6, 2026 at 08:00 UTC. Daily and weekly expiries happen at the same hour, and the monthly and quarterly expiries on the last Friday of the month are the largest.
What does the put/call ratio show?
It divides open put positions by open call positions. A value above 1 means more puts than calls, which usually reflects protection rather than a bearish call. The open interest ratio shows accumulated positions and the volume ratio shows the last 24 hours.
Is max pain a good indicator, and does it pull price?
Not reliably. Max pain is not a guarantee, and price often finishes an expiry far from it. It is a context level that matters more in the last days before an expiry and should be read together with the call wall, the put wall and the expected move.
Where do these numbers come from?
Public options data is collected from several sources, combined and refreshed every 30 minutes. The figures are approximate and are the sum of the sources reached, so they can differ from a single market or from headline expiry totals.
What are Bitcoin options?
A Bitcoin option is a contract that gives the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy (call) or sell (put) Bitcoin at a set strike price on a set expiry date, in return for a premium. The buyer can lose at most the premium paid.
What happens to an option at expiry?
At expiry the contract ends. An option that finishes in the money is settled at the expiry price, usually in cash, and one that finishes out of the money expires worthless. Exact settlement terms depend on the contract.
What time do Bitcoin options expire?
Crypto options expire at 08:00 UTC. The calendar above also shows the time in your own time zone.