$2.2 Billion Crypto Options Expire Today, Will Markets React?

The first Friday of the new year has arrived and more Bitcoin and Ether options are expiring as spot market momentum remains subdued.

Approximately 21,000 Bitcoin options contracts expire on Friday, January 2 and have a notional value of approximately $1.85 billion.

This expiration event is much smaller than average due to muted trading over the holiday season and last Friday’s huge stock market. Trading has been subdued over the New Year’s holiday as expected, with low volume and low volatility, and spot markets are largely sideways as we start a new month and a new year.

Bitcoin options expire

This week’s small tranche of Bitcoin options contracts has a put/call ratio of 0.48, meaning there are many more calls (longs) expiring than puts (shorts). According to Coinglass, the max pain is around $88,000, which is pretty close to current spot prices, so many will be in the money at expiration.

Open interest (OI), or the value or number of Bitcoin options contracts remaining to expire, is highest at $100,000, which is $1.3 billion at this strike price. on Deribit. About $1.1 billion in OI remains from $75,000 and $80,000 as bearish bets increase.

The total OI of BTC options across all exchanges is $28 billion, much lower now after last week’s huge expiration.

“Overall, market liquidity remains subdued and sentiment is pessimistic.” said crypto derivatives provider Greeks Live in a market update earlier this week.

In addition to the current crop of Bitcoin options, approximately 130,000 Ethereum contracts are also expiring, with a notional value of $396 million, a max pain of $2,950, and a put/call ratio of 0.62. Total ETH options OI across all exchanges is about $6.7 billion, about a third of what it was at the end of August.

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Spot Market Outlook

Nothing has actually changed in the past month, observed analyst ‘Credibull Crypto’ Friday.

“As expected, we continue to cruise at these levels with no interruptions in HTF [high time frame] market structure, despite many already claiming that our cycle top has arrived.”

The $74,000 support level remains unbroken, “and there are some indications that we are forming a bottom here,” she added.

Analyst ‘Daan Crypto Trades’ observed the new monthly and yearly candle and said: “You can expect this candle to reach at least a little further in either direction as the month goes on. In general, that first week in particular tends to give some fakeouts.”

$BTC A new monthly and annual candle has begun. You can expect this candle to extend at least a little further in both directions during the month.

In general, that first week in particular tends to give some fakeouts.

All in all, still in the ~$84K-$94K range for now… pic.twitter.com/76Db4CJL5k

— Daan Crypto Trades (@DaanCrypto) January 1, 2026

BTC has risen steadily over the past 24 hours, rising 1.3% to reach just above $89,000 during the Asian trading session on Friday morning. However, this price level has shown strong resistance over the past week.

ETH prices regained $3,000 on Friday morning after gaining 1.7% on the day as trading started on a positive note in Asia. Altcoins were largely in the green at the time of writing, with bigger gains for Dogecoin, Cardano, Chainlink and Avalanche.