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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe end of another week is here again, and it’s also the end of the month, which means a bumper batch of Bitcoin and Ether options contracts are expiring.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Around 91,000 Bitcoin options contracts will expire on Friday, Jan. 30, with a notional value of roughly $8.3 billion. This event is much larger than the rest this month because it is the last one for January.<\/p>\n
Crypto markets have lost around $215 billion since the start of the week, as the Federal Reserve kept US interest rates steady at 3.5% to 3.75%, still much higher than its 2% target. Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East also reignited, sparking further fears.<\/p>\n
This week\u2019s big batch of Bitcoin options contracts has a put\/call ratio of 0.54, meaning that there are more expiring calls (longs) than puts (shorts). Max pain is around $90,000, according to Coinglass, which is above current spot prices, so many will be out of the money on expiry.<\/p>\n
Open interest (OI), or the value or number of Bitcoin options contracts yet to expire, remains highest at $100,000, which has $1.9 billion at this strike price on Deribit. There remains around over $1 billion in OI at $75,000, $80,000 and $85,000 as bearish bets mount.<\/p>\n
Total BTC options OI across all exchanges has been climbing since the beginning of the year and is at $58 billion.<\/p>\n
\u201cExpiry could amplify moves around key levels, especially around the pain zones,\u201d said Deribit, and that appears to be happening as spot markets tank.<\/p>\n
\n\ud83d\udea8 Options Expiry Alert \ud83d\udea8<\/p>\n
At 8:00 UTC tomorrow, over $9.5B in crypto options are set to expire.$BTC<\/a>: $8.27B notional | Put\/Call: 0.54 | Max Pain: $90K$ETH<\/a>: $1.27B notional | Put\/Call: 0.74 | Max Pain: $3.1K<\/p>\n
BTC is trading sideways just under $90K going into expiry, while\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/vEXRIaIreO<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Deribit (@DeribitOfficial) January 29, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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In addition to today\u2019s batch of Bitcoin options, around 440,000 Ethereum contracts are also expiring, with a notional value of $1.3 billion, max pain at $3,100, and a put\/call ratio of 0.74. Total ETH options OI across all exchanges is around $35 billion.<\/p>\n
This brings the total notional value of crypto options expiries to around $9.6 billion.<\/p>\n
Spot Market Outlook<\/h2>\n
Crypto markets melted down<\/a> during the Friday morning trading session in Asia, with total capitalization dropping below $3 trillion for the first time since mid-December.\u00a0More concerning is that it has fallen to its lowest level since April, suggesting that a bear market is fully underway.<\/p>\n
Bitcoin plunged through support, crashing 8% on the day in a fall to $81,300 at the time of writing, its lowest level since April.\u00a0Ether prices<\/a> tanked 9%, falling to around the $2,700 level, and the altcoins were a double-digit bloodbath.<\/p>\n
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