Bitcoin and Ethereum options monthly expiry totals $8.8B – Jan 2026​

About $8.8 billion in Bitcoin and Ethereum options expired on Jan. 30, 2026 at 08:00 UTC, marking the first monthly expiry of the year. With BTC and ETH trading below widely watched “max pain” levels ($90,000 for BTC and $3,000 for ETH), the expiry concentrated attention on strike positioning and short-term volatility around settlement.

This is one story.
We send the whole picture every morning.
Join the WebSnack newsletter.

Context

Monthly options expiries matter in crypto because a large slice of open interest can settle or roll at the same time, changing hedging flows in spot and perps. On Deribit, weekly and monthly options expire at 08:00 UTC, with monthlies expiring on the last Friday of each calendar month. Deribit’s options are European-style and cash-settled, meaning they are exercised only at expiry rather than early.

Crypto prices entered the Jan. 30 expiry under pressure after a sharp risk-off move. YCharts data showed Bitcoin at $84,570.41 on Jan. 30 (daily) versus $89,162.10 on Jan. 29, a 5.15% day-over-day drop. YCharts showed Ethereum at $2,818.82 on Jan. 30 (daily) versus $3,006.81 on Jan. 29, a 6.25% day-over-day drop.​

Details

Greeks.live figures syndicated by multiple outlets put the combined notional expiring at “over $8.8 billion” and framed it as a large monthly settlement window. BeInCrypto reported the total notional at about $8.8 billion for the Jan. 30 expiry.

For Bitcoin, Greeks.live data showed 91,000 BTC options expiring with about $7.6 billion in notional value. The same dataset reported a put/call ratio of 0.48 and a max pain level of $90,000 for BTC. For Ethereum, Greeks.live data showed 435,000 ETH options expiring with about $1.19 billion in notional value, plus a put/call ratio of 0.68 and a max pain level of $3,000.

BeInCrypto also described a shift toward hedging demand into expiry, even as headline positioning remained call-heavy.​

Impact

“Max pain” is commonly used as a shorthand for the strike where option buyers collectively lose the most at expiry, and it often becomes a reference point for short-term price discussions. With BTC at $84,570.41 on Jan. 30 (daily), the market sat about $5,430 below the $90,000 max pain level highlighted in expiry coverage. With ETH at $2,818.82 on Jan. 30 (daily), ETH also traded below its $3,000 max pain reference.

Greeks.live described elevated implied volatility and defensive demand into the expiry window. “Implied volatility has risen significantly, with BTC’s IV for major tenors around 45% and ETH’s around 60%… downside protection remains the dominant market requirement.” – Adam, analyst at Greeks.live, Jan. 29, 2026.

A broader view from Deribit’s CEO underlines why this matters for market structure: “We are pretty much seen as a repository of volatility.” – Luuk Strijers, CEO, Deribit, Jan. 25, 2025 (The Wolf of All Streets interview transcript).​

Next Steps

After a major expiry, desks typically watch whether hedges get lifted or rolled forward, because that determines whether dealers keep trading around the same strikes or shift exposure to the next maturities. Traders also track whether BTC re-approaches $90,000 (the referenced max pain level) and whether ETH reclaims $3,000, because both levels sit at the center of the largest strike discussions around this expiry.

The next monthly expiry follows Deribit’s standard schedule (last Friday at 08:00 UTC), which keeps a recurring liquidity and positioning checkpoint on the calendar.

If this was useful, the newsletter will save you time.
Join WebSnack.

P.S. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Always conduct your own research and make independent decisions.