Bitcoin, ETH, XRP, and Solana are facing pullbacks today ahead of Friday’s crypto options expiry. The crypto market sentiment has significantly improved this week, with traders expecting upside momentum amid strong spot ETF inflows.
Crypto liquidations surged to almost $450 million, with almost a similar amount of short and long liquidations. In addition, US-Iran peace deal hopes and dropping oil prices triggered bullish momentum in Bitcoin price.
President Trump expressed confidence that the US and Iran could soon reach an agreement to end the Iran war, Reuters reported on April 17. A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon has also fueled Trump’s confidence in traveling to Pakistan to seal a peace deal.
$1.65 Billion in Bitcoin Options Expiry
According to derivatives crypto exchange Deribit, almost 22K Bitcoin options with a notional value of $1.65 billion are set to expire on Friday. The put-call ratio is 1.06, which is slightly bearish.
Moreover, Bitcoin max pain price is at $72000, below the current market price. Derbit claims positioning has shifted from last week and Bitcoin traders have flipped from “call-heavy to puts leading.”
Traders are adjusting positions based on next week’s monthly expiry. Data shows there is 97.79% probability of Bitcoin options expiring above $74,000 today.
Analyst Ted Pillows noted that Bitcoin price is going sideways in the hourly timeframe, but spot demand is in a downtrend. Meanwhile, the Coinbase Bitcoin premium index is also about to flip negative, signaling a potential reversal in Bitcoin.
Meanwhile, the US stock market is susceptible to profit booking after the S&P 500 hits an ATH. Ted Pillows claims Bitcoin downtrend will accelerate if stocks even show a slight weakness.
Ethereum Options Expiry
Over 196K ETH options with a notional value of $458 million are set to expire on Deribit, with a put-call ratio of 0.96. This indicates mixed sentiment among traders due to a neutral put-call ratio.
Moreover, the max pain price is at $2,250, lower than the current market price of $2,326 at the time of writing. However, there is 91% odds of ETH options expiring above the $2,325 strike price. Ethereum traders are becoming hesitant as the CLARITY Act misses April timeline.
“ETH OI grew week-on-week despite the broader market move,” said Deribit. ETH open interest volume is almost similar in the last 24 hours, with a put-call ratio of 0.97.
XRP and Solana Max Pain Price
XRP options worth $3.75 million to expire, with a put-call ratio of 1.11. The max pain price is at $1.38, but options traders expect upside momentum toward $1.45 amid XRP whale accumulations and massive spot ETF inflows.
XRP price today is almost 2% higher at $1.43, with an intraday low and high of $1.40 and $1.46, respectively. Moreover, trading volume has jumped further by 30% in the last 24 hours, indicating higher interest among traders.
Meanwhile, $16.69 million in Solana options will expire today, with a put-call ratio extremely bearish at 2.12. The max pain price is at $84, below the current market price of $87.91.
Solana is trading 3% higher over the last 24 hours, with a 24-hour low and high of $84.20 and $90.38, respectively. Trading volume has surged by 41% over the last 24 hours, indicating a rising interest amid the US-Iran peace deal hopes.
