Options on Bitcoin and Ethereum, with a total volume of nearly $16.6 billion, are concentrated for expiration in the third quarter of 2026. According to Coinbase, of this amount, $14.73 billion is attributed to Bitcoin – approximately 186,000 open contracts and a put-call ratio of 0.52, indicating a predominance of calls over puts. Ethereum has a volume of $1.92 billion with 756,100 open contracts and a put-call ratio of 0.57. Bitcoin accounts for nearly 89% of the total nominal reported by Coinbase Markets.
According to Coinbase Markets, the maximum pain level for Bitcoin is $72,000, while for Ethereum it is $2,200. The highest concentration of calls for Bitcoin is observed at the $70,000 level, with significant open interest in calls remaining at $85,000 and $90,000, continuing up to $100,000. The company described this structure as "skewed towards higher strikes." As of September 15, Bitcoin was trading around $78,000 – above the maximum pain level and below higher strikes. According to Investing.com, during the session, BTC hovered near $77,900.
The structure of September derivatives shows demand for growth ahead of the quarterly settlement. Bitfinex analysts identified downside protection concentrated between $68,000 and $75,000, while positioning in calls leans towards movements above $80,000.
The highest concentration of calls for Ethereum is at the $3,000 level – around 43,000 contracts. Some secondary reports mistakenly indicated a level of $30,000, but the original publication from Coinbase Markets states $3,000. The maximum pain level for Ethereum is around $2,200, while on September 15, ETH was trading around $2,510, which is above max pain and below the $3,000 strike, where the highest number of calls is concentrated. Closing the week above $2,550 is viewed by analysts as a possible path to $3,000 – this is a technical assessment, not a guarantee of movement to expiration.
Related articles
