Bitcoin’s June decline has created a major options-market setup, with about $8.6 billion in BTC options now out of the money before the June 26 expiry.
According to Deribit, more than $10.6 billion in notional open interest is set to expire, making this one of the most important dates on the derivatives calendar.
The scale of unprofitable positioning is the key point. Only about $2 billion of the $10.6 billion in open interest is currently in the money, leaving roughly 80% out of the money. If those contracts expired at current prices, they would be worthless.
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That matters because quarterly expiries often force traders and market makers to rebalance positions in the final days. When positioning is this lopsided, those adjustments can create sharper price swings as participants hedge, close trades, or roll exposure into later expiries.
The market is concentrated around two major strikes. The $60,000 put has about $450 million in open interest and acts as a key downside level, while the $80,000 call has roughly $406 million in exposure and remains the main upside hurdle.
The max pain level also sits above the current market. A max pain price is near $74,000, about 14% above Bitcoin’s spot price near $65,000. If that positioning starts to pull price action upward, BTC could rebound into expiry. But if sellers remain in control, the large out-of-the-money stack may simply expire worthless and reinforce the weakness from June’s downturn.
Disclaimer: Please note that the contents of this article are not financial or investing advice. The information provided in this article is the author’s opinion only and should not be considered as offering trading or investing recommendations. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability and accuracy of this information. The cryptocurrency market suffers from high volatility and occasional arbitrary movements. Any investor, trader, or regular crypto users should research multiple viewpoints and be familiar with all local regulations before committing to an investment.