$7.5 Billion in Bitcoin and Ethereum Options Set to Expire May 29

Nearly $7.5 billion worth of Bitcoin and Ethereum options are due to expire on May 29, setting up a pivotal monthly settlement for the crypto derivatives market as both assets enter the event after a sharp weekly slide. Bitcoin: heavy monthly expiry amid a correction Bitcoin heads into the expiry with 84,112 open contracts, representing roughly $6.2 billion in notional value. The put/call ratio sits at 0.84, with 45,790 calls versus 38,322 puts, pointing to a modestly bullish tilt among remaining positions. Strikes are most concentrated higher up the curve, notably in the $80,000–$85,000 range. Deribit data show Bitcoin's Max Pain level at $75,000, above spot. Bitcoin was trading around $73,350 after a 5% weekly decline, according to BeInCrypto. Pressure has been compounded by institutional ETF selling totaling about $2 billion since May 14, which has kept price below the Max Pain level into the settlement window. Ethereum: Max Pain above spot as key strikes draw focus Ethereum also faces a heavy expiry. Open interest totals 643,639 contracts, or about $1.29 billion in notional value. The put/call ratio is 0.74, with 369,158 calls against 274,481 puts. While that mix suggests a buying bias during the cycle, the latest drawdown has pushed many calls out of the money heading into the close. Positioning clusters around the $2,200 strike, where more than 70,000 puts are stacked. Higher strikes at $2,500 and $3,000 still show active call interest, though they sit increasingly far from current spot. Ethereum's Max Pain is $2,200 versus a spot price near $2,003. Traders are watching liquidity around the most crowded strikes, as late flows often intensify into monthly expiry and can trigger abrupt moves that set the tone for the next cycle in global spot markets. What analysts are watching next Greeks.live said Bitcoin has begun to break below its key GEX (Gamma Exposure) concentration zone, which could erode the support previously provided by open interest. Ethereum has also slipped below its main GEX resistance level, with gamma heavily concentrated near $2,000. Despite Bitcoin reaching what analysts described as a technically critical level, implied volatility has not responded in kind. IV across maturities remains under 40%, while longer-dated IV continues to trend lower. The steep three-day selloff also failed to produce a meaningful spike in short-term IV. With May options trading around 20%, analysts expect the settlement to materially reshape positioning and the market's gamma profile. Even so, broader positioning still reflects confidence in key support levels, and large investors do not appear to have meaningfully increased hedges or signaled heightened concern over a deeper breakdown.