cryptocurrency In a potential development that could bring upward volatility to the market, both Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) have $15 billion worth of options expiring on Friday, March 29. This means that options exchange Deribit is preparing to sell $9.5 billion worth of Bitcoin options and will also close $5.7 billion worth of Ether options.
According to experts, the quarterly Bitcoin and Ethereum options expiry may be set to encourage bullish price movement into the market. These options will officially expire at 08:00 UTC. This process can cause significant price fluctuations in the market as options close, which can present both opportunities and risks for investors.
The cryptocurrency market has become one of the most interesting markets in the financial industry in 2024. The price of Bitcoin skyrocketed with the approval of Spot ETFs in January. Following this development, the asset rose to an all-time high of $73,000 this month.
As Koinfinans.com reported, Ethereum, on the other hand, stands out as the next possible asset to receive Spot ETF approval in the United States. However, in this process, the objections of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding the security status of the assets also attract attention. This stands out as one of the potential hurdles Ethereum may face in the ETF approval process.
These developments appear to further solidify both Bitcoin and Ethereum’s leading position in the industry. But now, they will face another interesting fact as they will be faced with a $15 billion option on both cryptocurrencies that expires today.
Notably, leading cryptocurrency options exchange Deribit states that option contracts are settled quarterly. Therefore, $9.5 billion worth of options on Bitcoin will expire. This figure corresponds to 62% of total open positions. The rest consists of Ethereum, where $5.7 billion worth of option contracts will expire.
In his statement to Coindesk, Luuk Strijers, Deribit’s commercial manager, stated that most of the options in particular will expire in the money. This suggests that upward pressure may re-emerge, which is then redistributed to the market. Therefore, expiration of these options may cause significant fluctuations in asset prices.
