$10.86 Billion in Bitcoin Options Expire on Deribit Friday
Key Facts
Bitcoin options worth $10.86 billion are due to expire on Deribit at 08:00 UTC on Friday, October 30, alongside the settlement of $783 million in Ether options, according to a report published by CoinDesk on October 29. The expiry comes after Bitcoin fell to $79,300 earlier in the week and demand for protection against further declines increased. Deribit Chief Commercial Officer Jean-David Pequignot said the break below $80,000 pushed the 25-delta front-end skew sharply toward puts. Those options were more than 10 volatility points more expensive than calls, signaling a larger premium traders were paying to hedge against a decline. The large settlement highlights the gap between the cost of short-term protection and the positioning of open interest at higher levels.
Pequignot described the short-dated Bitcoin options implied-volatility curve as showing a “pronounced smile,” with strong demand on the downside as traders “raced” to seek protection. The 25-delta skew refers to the difference between the implied volatility priced into puts and calls at specified delta levels; it tilted sharply toward puts after the break below $80,000. Pequignot said a positive variance risk premium means options are pricing in large moves relative to recently realized volatility. The DVOL index, which measures Bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility, stood at 36 points at the time of the report, compared with realized volatility of 31 points over 30 days. The gap of about five points means the volatility priced into options was higher than the volatility recorded in the preceding period.
By contrast, most open interest in Bitcoin call options is concentrated at strike prices between $90,000 and $100,000, according to CoinDesk. The report said those bets had become out of the money or loss-making at prevailing prices when it was published. This places open interest at prices well above the $80,000 level breached during the week, while the premium on puts reflects greater demand for front-end protection. Bloomberg reported that contracts expiring on October 30 account for about one-third of total Bitcoin options open on Deribit. It also said expiring calls outnumber puts, with large concentrations at strike prices of $90,000, $95,000 and $100,000. This distribution highlights the difference between the volume of open call options and short-term risk pricing.
Options-market moves came during a week marked by influential U.S. decisions and data. The Federal Reserve said economic activity is expanding at a solid pace and domestic household spending has remained resilient despite continued uncertainty, partly related to geopolitical developments. In September data, the personal consumption expenditures price index rose 0.5% from the previous month, while the index excluding food and energy increased 0.3%. On an annual basis, the headline index rose 3.6% and the core index climbed 3.1%. These readings put higher annual inflation in the backdrop of options-expiry week, while the monthly increase in the core index remained at 0.3%.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis’ initial estimate showed real gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 3.4% in the third quarter of 2026, after 2.2% in the second quarter. In the market, Bitcoin closed at $80,702.01 on October 29, according to EL7 data, while Bloomberg reported it was at $81,100 during Asian trading hours on Thursday. The cryptocurrency fell below $80,000 on Monday and remained near that level during the week, Bloomberg reported. On October 25, EL7 published a report about $11.1 billion in Bitcoin options due to expire that Friday, before CoinDesk reported a value of $10.86 billion for the upcoming contracts. October 30 also marks the last trading and settlement day for CME Group’s October Bitcoin futures options contract, ticker BTCV26; that is a separate product from Deribit options.
Upcoming U.S. economic data remain among the events traders are watching after the contracts expire. The Bureau of Economic Analysis has set November 25, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time for the release of its October personal income and outlays report. Bloomberg also said the U.S. midterm elections scheduled for days later could add to uncertainty in the cryptocurrency market. These dates frame the market’s near-term risks alongside the anticipated Deribit settlement. The put premium alone does not constitute a certain forecast for Bitcoin’s direction, but it reflects the cost of protection priced in when the report was published.