Record-Breaking Bitcoin Options Open Interest on Deribit Surpasses $45 Billion

The open interest (OI) in Bitcoin options on derivative exchanges has surpassed $45 billion, with Deribit accounting for roughly 90% of the total.

On June 27, options with a nominal value of approximately $15 billion, representing 139,000 BTC, expired on the leading platform in this sector. The ratio of put options to call options was 0.75, indicating a predominance of bullish bets over hedging strategies. The «maximum pain» level was set at $102,000.

Options grant investors the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an asset at a predetermined price. Call options indicate a bet on price increases, while put options serve as a hedge against declines.

Additionally, 939,000 contracts based on Ethereum, valued at $2.29 billion, expired on Deribit. The put-to-call ratio for Ethereum was 0.52, and the maximum pain level was around $2,200.

Bitcoin’s implied volatility is currently below 35% for both short- and medium-term timeframes, while Ethereum’s implied volatility is nearing 65%, according to researcher Timothy Misira from BRN in a conversation with The Block.

Following the decline of the second-largest cryptocurrency, other major altcoins have also experienced downturns. Notably, the GMCI 30 index has decreased by 9.73% over the past month and by 15.12% since the beginning of the year.

Nevertheless, Misira believes that the performance of alternative coins to Bitcoin suggests an accumulation of positions.

As a reminder, sources from the WSJ report that Coinbase has reached an agreement to acquire Deribit for $2.9 billion.