Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) will see a combined $9.87 billion in options contracts expire today at 08:00 UTC on Deribit, marking April's largest monthly settlement.
The expiry covers 109,000 BTC contracts with a notional value of $8.55 billion and 563,000 ETH contracts worth $1.32 billion. Both assets traded well above their respective max pain levels heading into settlement, with the Web3 conference in Hong Kong this week adding a bullish backdrop as attendees reflected broad optimism across crypto markets.
Bitcoin's max pain sat at $72,000, yet spot price hovered near $77,900 at the time of expiry. The put-to-call ratio of 0.93 pointed to a roughly balanced split between bearish and bullish positioning.
Ethereum showed a stronger call bias. ETH traded around $2,315 against a $2,200 max pain, with a put-to-call ratio of 0.72.
The skew toward calls suggests traders had been betting on further upside. Altcoin prices have also been recovering alongside the broader rally.
According to Deribit, call open interest led on both assets, reinforcing the bullish tilt across the derivatives market.
BTC call open interest totaled 52,607 contracts versus 52,844 puts, while ETH calls dominated at 322,373 against 245,862 puts.
Analysts at Greeks.live noted that Bitcoin's implied volatility for major maturities continued to fall this month, with most terms dropping 1% to 2% to below 40%. Ethereum's IV declined even more sharply, sitting around 60%.
The declining volatility and retreating skew suggest the current rally reflects steady capital inflows rather than speculative momentum.