I recently noticed an interesting phenomenon in the BTC options market. Last month, a large options contract expired on Deribit, totaling over $14 billion, accounting for nearly 40% of their open interest. Such large concentrated expirations often lead to significant volatility. I looked into the market structure at that time and found that the $75k level was particularly focal, as it was considered the "pain point"—meaning this price would have the greatest impact on both options buyers and sellers.

At that time, Bitcoin was around $71k, still quite a distance from that "magnetic" price level. According to Deribit's Chief Commercial Officer, market makers tend to be attracted to these key levels when hedging, which can cause noticeable price swings before and after expiration. Moreover, the options settlement price isn't a single moment's price but a volume-weighted average over the last 30 minutes, making the Asian market close to European market open especially critical.

From the market sentiment at that time, funds were divided between whether Bitcoin could continue its rebound and the need to protect against downside risks. A major exchange also warned that such large expirations often act as catalysts for the next trend, especially when the price has already stabilized somewhat. Therefore, BTC options expiration events are not just technical issues but also reflect the overall market sentiment shift.