29K Bitcoin Options Expire Today: What Could Happen?

• Bitcoin (BTC) price continued to demonstrate strong performance, maintaining a 10% gain throughout last week amid high market volatility.
• As the crypto market prepares for a significant event, option data reveals upcoming expiration dates that will shape market dynamics.
• On-chain data indicates that despite the current volatility, Bitcoin whales and sharks continue to accumulate.

As 29,000 Bitcoin options expire today, opinions on how it might impact the Bitcoin price are drawing attention: Here are the latest details!

What Do Bitcoin Option Data Suggest?

Bitcoin (BTC) price continued to demonstrate strong performance, maintaining a 10% gain throughout last week amid high market volatility. Today, during noon hours, the BTC price rallied above $68,000, but has since partially retraced and is currently at $67,195, with a market cap of $1.32 trillion.

As the crypto market prepares for a significant event, option data reveals upcoming expiration dates that will shape market dynamics. A total of 29,000 BTC options are set to expire, accompanied by a Put-Call Ratio of 0.86, indicating mixed sentiments towards both downside and upside. The maximum pain point is calculated to be $60,000, reflecting a critical price level where the highest number of option contracts become worthless, surpassing a notional value of over $2 billion.

In this anticipatory environment, market volatility has reached nearly a year’s highest level. Bitcoin’s optimistic journey briefly surpassed $69,000, forming a new all-time high, but subsequently experienced a sharp drop of over 10%. Significantly, it’s observed that all major implied volatilities (IVs) have increased, with short-term IVs rising up to 100%, according to reports from Greeks.Live.

Excitement in the US dollar-centric spot bull market has attracted global interest in Bitcoin, recognizing it as a promising store of value in the future. Consequently, there has been an increase in options trading volume and positions. Options are increasingly preferred due to their flexibility, offering hedging for spot buyers and high-leverage opportunities for long and short positions.

On-chain data indicates that despite the current volatility, Bitcoin whales and sharks continue to accumulate. According to on-chain data provider Santiment, despite the market turmoil following the highest volatility of all time, sharks and whales continue to remain active. However, there is a decrease in non-zero $BTC wallets in general, often attributed to small traders giving up. This combination is generally considered bearish.

SEC Delays Options Trading for BTC ETFs

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has postponed the decision on allowing options trading for BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF until April 24. Earlier, the SEC sought public opinion on whether Nasdaq should allow options trading on BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF. In another development, BlackRock has applied to buy spot Bitcoin ETFs for its Global Allocation Fund.

Additionally, the SEC has delayed decisions on spot Bitcoin ETF options for Cboe Exchange, Inc. and Miax Pearl LLC. In its application, the SEC stated:

“The Commission finds that it is appropriate to designate a longer period within which to take action on the proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider the proposed rule change and the comments received.”

Thursday’s filings revealed that the SEC has delayed its decision on whether to allow Cboe Exchange, Inc. and Miax Pearl LLC to trade options on spot Bitcoin ETFs.