After a seven-year hiatus, the US government shut down due to an unresolved budget crisis. As the uncertainty and volatility brought on by the shutdown continued, the expiration date for options contracts in the crypto market arrived, as it does every Friday.
According to the second week of October data, approximately $5.3 billion worth of crypto options will expire on the Deribit derivatives exchange on October 10.
According to Deribit data, $4.3 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC) and $940 million worth of Ethereum (ETH) options are set to expire.
Accordingly, the Put/Call Ratio of BTC options is 1.12, the maximum loss point is $117,000 and the notional value is $4.3 billion.
When we look at Ethereum, ETH options have a 0.9 Put/Call Ratio, a maximum loss point of $4,400, and a notional value of $940 million.
In a post on his Deribit X account, he stated that BTC investors are divided between $110,000 put and $120,000 call options, while ETH flows are more bullish.
What Do Put/Call and Max Pain Mean for Bitcoin and Ethereum?
First, when we look at the put/call ratio, we see that it’s 1.12 for BTC and 0.9 for ETH. These ratios indicate that sell orders for Bitcoin are greater than buy orders, indicating that options traders are bearish.
In contrast, the put/call ratio for ETH is 0.9, indicating a more neutral investor sentiment compared to Bitcoin. This suggests that options traders are taking positions in anticipation of continued sideways movement in the Ethereum price, according to analysts.
Secondly, max pain can often act as a magnet during expiration in options markets.
In the options market, maximum pain is the price level at which investors incur the greatest losses and options sellers feel most comfortable. In other words, it acts as a magnet for the market as contracts expire.
At this point, the maximum pain level for Bitcoin was $117,000, while the maximum pain level for Ethereum was $4,400.
As a result, Bitcoin is well above its maximum pain level at $121,000, while ETH is below its maximum pain level at $4,300. This could indicate a decline for BTC and a rise for ETH as the option expiration date approaches. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean a definitive rise or fall.
*This is not investment advice.