WuBlockchain
Roughly 23,000 BTC options contracts expired on Friday with a put-call ratio of 0.97, a maximum pain point of $62,000, and a notional value near $1.5 billion. A put-call ratio below 1 means slightly more calls than puts were open, suggesting balanced rather than bearish BTC positioning into the expiry.
ETH told a different story. About 140,000 ETH contracts expired with a put-call ratio of 1.26, a maximum pain point of $1,700, and roughly $250 million in notional value. A ratio above 1 indicates more open puts than calls, with traders pricing in downside protection or leaning bearish.
Why it matters
Maximum pain is the strike price at which the largest number of contracts expires worthless, and it often acts as a short-term gravitational pull on spot price into expiry. With BTC's pain point sitting at $62,000 and ETH's at $1,700, both assets were trading through or near those levels into close, limiting the room for sharp directional repricing on the day of expiry.
Market impact
The divergent put-call ratios are the cleanest read from the print. BTC's near-parity ratio (0.97) points to two-sided flow and no clear directional lean, while ETH's elevated 1.26 ratio is a defensive posture, either hedging existing longs or betting on further downside. Combined notional value across the two expiries sits at roughly $1.75 billion, a routine Friday expiry with no outsized gamma risk.
Frequently asked questions
-
What does maximum pain mean for crypto options expiries?
Maximum pain is the strike price at which the largest number of options contracts expires worthless. It often acts as a short-term gravitational pull on spot price into expiry, since market makers have an incentive to push price toward it.
-
Why does a put-call ratio above 1 matter?
A put-call ratio above 1 means more open puts than calls, which traders typically read as defensive positioning: either hedging existing long exposure or betting on further downside. ETH's 1.26 ratio on this expiry fit that pattern.
-
How much BTC and ETH options notional expired on July 10?
Approximately 23,000 BTC contracts expired with around $1.5 billion in notional value, and roughly 140,000 ETH contracts expired with about $250 million in notional value, combining for roughly $1.75 billion across both assets.
-
Where were the max pain levels set for the July 10 expiry?
Max pain sat at $62,000 for BTC and $1,700 for ETH. Both assets were trading near those strikes heading into the print, which limited room for sharp directional repricing on expiry day.
-
Did the July 10 options expiry move spot BTC or ETH prices?
The combined notional of roughly $1.75 billion is routine for a monthly expiry, and neither asset showed outsized gamma risk into the close. With both max pain levels sitting near spot, the expiry itself was not the catalyst for a directional move.
Crypto News
CoinDesk
TheBlock
Crypto Rank News
Crypto Capital Venture
WatcherGuru
CryptoSlate