U.Today - An enormous $102 billion in Bitcoin and Ethereum options are set to expire, which should push the volatility of the cryptocurrency market upward again - 107,000 BTC worth $6.6 billion and $3.6 billion worth of Ethereum.
With their impact on price dynamics and investor behavior, options play a critical role in the cryptocurrency market. A derivative known as an option gives buyers the right but not the responsibility to purchase or sell an asset at a fixed price prior to the contract's expiration.
Due to traders and investors' adjustments to their positions, the volume of options scheduled for expiration can cause large price swings. Understanding these market fluctuations requires a special grasp of the max pain idea.
The maximum pain is the price at which the greatest number of options contracts (calls and puts combined) will expire, resulting in the greatest possible financial loss for options holders. This target is $57,000 for Bitcoin and $3,100 for Ethereum. Due to market makers' attempts to reduce their payouts, the price of the underlying asset frequently tends to move toward the maximum pain point as the expiration date draws near.
The crypto market has faced difficulties in June, with a more negative outlook as the prices of ETH and BTC have gotten closer to their respective maximum pain points. Such closeness suggests that many options holders were unprepared for these price levels, thinking them improbable.
When traders unwind their positions and market makers hedge their exposures, the expiration of such a large volume of options may cause volatility to increase. Another important metric to take into account is the Put/Call ratio.
The ratio for Bitcoin is 0.5, meaning that there are more call options than puts. Ethereum exhibits a similar trend with a ratio of 0.59. Despite the recent market correction, these ratios point to a general bullish attitude among traders.