The expiration of approximately 4.5 billion dollars worth of options on Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) is today, December 12, 2025, at 08:00.
Options expiring today are occurring amid cautious investor sentiment due to weak liquidity at the year-end and recent macroeconomic developments.
Traders are preparing for the expiration of 4.5 billion dollars in Bitcoin and Ethereum options following the Fed's interest rate cut.
The current price of Bitcoin is at 92,509 dollars and the 'max pain' point stands out at 90,000 dollars. The number of open contracts in the market has reached a total of 39,826, consisting of 18,974 call contracts and 20,852 put contracts. Thus, the put/call ratio comes to 1.10 while approximately 3.7 billion dollars of an open position volume has been formed.
Deribit indicates that there is almost a balance between call and put contracts. This suggests that traders are expecting a calm expiration after recent tight range movements.
Deribit wrote: 'The clustering around $90,000 reflects that the market is not showing clear decisiveness about direction and is awaiting a new catalyst.'
Ethereum is trading at $3,247, with the max pain point at $3,100. The open position size is noteworthy at 237,879 contracts: 107,282 calls and 130,597 puts. The put/call ratio is 1.22, and the total volume is approximately $770 million.
Deribit analysts say that the position distribution on the ETH side has shifted to a more neutral region while pointing out the call concentration above $3,400. This suggests that traders still seem willing to price in volatility potential.
The Macro Outlook Supports Markets But Caution Continues
The Greeks.live team emphasizes that the recent 25 basis point interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve and the resumption of approximately $40 billion in short-term Treasury purchases have provided liquidity support to the market. However, the overall market remains cautious.
Greeks.live stated: 'It's too early to characterize this development as a new monetary expansion or the beginning of a bull market. Historically, year-ends in cryptocurrency markets are among the weakest liquidity periods.'
More than half of the open positions are clustered around the December 26 expiration. Additionally, implied volatility is trending downward. This shows that expectations for significant price movement in the short term are low.
A negative trend is still emerging in the options market: put contracts are trading at higher premiums than calls. This indicates that the stable environment in the spot market has opened up space for covered call strategies, and the weak market structure has increased the demand for downside protection.
Greeks.live highlights that structural conditions remain weak. This means that traders should be alert for sudden upward catalysts, even if the likelihood of significant movement is low.
Short-Term Risks and Long-Term Momentum
Deribit analysts also point to the short-term pressure created by ETF outflows, MicroStrategy losing its premium, and miner stress.
Deribit, referring to Sean McNulty, Head of Derivatives Trading at FalconX Asia-Pacific, wrote: 'There are definitely risks in the short term... We need a structural development that will change this picture.'
Despite all these short-term challenges, medium-to-long-term momentum in BTC and ETH is maintained. Thus, unless a new catalyst emerges, it would not be surprising for this expiration to pass calmly.
As the market prepares for a $4.5 billion options expiration, traders are focusing on maintaining position balance and closely monitoring both macro liquidity conditions and crypto-specific developments for the new year.
In the short term, this large options expiration could increase volatility in the market, potentially affecting prices over the weekend. However, traders may adapt to the new trading conditions, after which the environment could rebalance.
