7.9 billion Bitcoin options expire on Friday! The biggest pain point is at $71k, could a short squeeze show be coming?

Bitcoin will see $7.9 billion in options settle, with the market focusing on the battle at $62,000 and $75,000. Currently, the bulls are heavily betting on $75,000 call options.

The cryptocurrency market is about to usher in a major turning point. This Friday, nearly $7.9 billion worth of Bitcoin options will expire and settle on the Deribit platform. The latest distribution of open interest shows that market funds are densely positioning around the two key levels of $62,000 and $75,000, signaling a tug-of-war between bulls and bears has begun.

According to on-chain data from analytics firm Glassnode, $75,000 is the main base for the bullish camp’s heavy bets on call options. As of now, open contracts at this strike price total up to $395 million.

Image source: Glassnode

More caution is warranted at the $75,000 level, where gamma exposure shows a deep negative value. In financial markets, this indicates that market makers, for hedging purposes, tend to operate under a “chasing gains and selling on dips” logic. When the price rises, they must buy more Bitcoin; when it falls, they need to sell more. This force will further amplify market volatility, turning the $75,000 zone into an extremely turbulent “eye of the storm,” where approaching this level could trigger even more intense swings.

On the downside, open interest in puts—protective options—concentrates around $62,000, with a total contract value of about $330 million. This forms the main support zone for Bitcoin’s retracement.

At the intersection of bullish and bearish forces, the “max pain price” for this expiration is at $71,000. The “max pain” point is the price at which the most traders would suffer financial losses at expiration. Historical experience shows that, as settlement approaches, the price tends to gravitate toward this “max pain” level.

Currently, Bitcoin is trading above the max pain point of $71,000, and the next test will be whether the bulls can hold this rally.

Beyond the options market, the undercurrents in the futures market are equally noteworthy. The funding rate for perpetual contracts remains persistently negative, indicating a large accumulation of short positions. If Bitcoin can hold above the $75,000 level, these short sellers will be forced to buy back Bitcoin to close their positions, fueling upward momentum and igniting a “short squeeze” rally.

• This article is reprinted with permission from: “BlockBeats”
• Original title: “$7.9 Billion BTC Options Expiring! Market Focuses on ‘2 Key Levels,’ Max Pain at $71,000”
• Original author: Block Sister MEL