Both Bitcoin and Ethereum had a significant amount of options contracts expiring on May 29th, and their prices remained below important thresholds leading up to the event.
Summary
- Bitcoin options worth $6.2 billion expired as BTC traded below the key $75,000 max pain level.
- Ethereum options worth $1.28 billion expired while ETH struggled near $2,000 after recent market weakness.
- Greeks.live said the expiry looked like bearish unwinding, with longs retreating from key resistance zones.
A significant amount of cryptocurrency options contracts recently expired: $6.2 billion worth of Bitcoin options and $1.28 billion worth of Ethereum options, according to Greeks.live. Specifically, 84,000 Bitcoin options and 639,000 Ethereum options reached their expiration dates.
The options contracts expired after Bitcoin’s price dropped below $75,000 last week. Ethereum also experienced a price decrease, trading around $2,000 after its support level was broken.
Bitcoin falls below max pain
Bitcoin’s put-call ratio stood at 0.88, according to Greeks.live. The max pain level was $75,000.
The price remained higher than the market average as the trading period ended. This indicated that buyers weren’t able to drive Bitcoin back to a significant price point.
As an analyst, I’ve been reviewing the options expiration data for May 29th. We saw a significant expiry, with 84,000 Bitcoin options contracts settling. The put-call ratio was 0.88, indicating slightly more call options than puts, and the max pain point – the price where most option holders would experience losses – was around $75,000. The total notional value of these Bitcoin contracts was $6.2 billion. We also saw 639,000 Ethereum options expire, with a put-call ratio of 0.81 and a max pain point of $2,200. The notional value for Ethereum totaled $1.28 billion.
— Greeks.live (@GreeksLive) May 29, 2026
As a researcher, I’ve been tracking Bitcoin’s recent performance, and Crypto.news reported a dip towards $73,000 leading up to the expiry date. They also pointed to money leaving Exchange Traded Funds, or ETFs, as a contributing factor to the selling pressure we’re seeing in the market.
Traders continued to watch the $75,000 price point closely. While breaking above that level might have relieved some selling pressure, Bitcoin wasn’t able to rise above it before the futures contracts expired.
Ethereum stays under pressure
Ethereum options traders are facing a significant expiry event. According to Greeks.live, the put-call ratio is currently 0.81, and the price level expected to cause the most pain for option holders is around $2,200.
Ethereum’s price fell before the end of the trading day, putting pressure on investors who were betting on a price increase.
The price movement is also drawing focus to the $2,100 level. According to Greeks.live, traders are now watching to see if Ethereum can climb back above that price point.
As a crypto investor, I’ve been watching Ethereum closely, and it’s currently trading around $2,000. It’s been a bit weak lately, but this puts it near a really important price point – a level that a lot of us are paying attention to.
Options data shows fragile sentiment
According to Greeks.live, the market isn’t overly pessimistic. Bitcoin and Ethereum options show more people are betting on price increases than decreases, as indicated by put-call ratios staying under 1.
This indicates that put options weren’t significantly more numerous than call options. However, recent trading activity suggests that investors were decreasing their overall risk exposure.
The company explained that the recent price drop was caused by investors closing out their positions. As these large positions expired, buyers weren’t able to push prices back up to important levels.
Greeks.live predicts that implied volatility will likely decrease after the options expiration date. However, this is just a forecast and could change if prices fluctuate significantly.
June contracts take market focus
As I’ve been tracking options data on Greeks.live, I noticed that only 20% of options expired last month. Following the settlement, the amount of open interest shifted, and now around 40% of options are for June.
This change suggests the next market move will likely determine where prices go. Traders will be looking to see if money flows back into the market after the expiry date.
Bitcoin’s price is now falling below a key support level, and the forces that were holding it up are getting weaker. Ethereum has followed suit, also dropping below its own support level around $2,000. While Bitcoin’s price has decreased significantly, reaching a concerning point…
— Greeks.live (@GreeksLive) May 28, 2026
Bitcoin needs to rise back above $75,000 to encourage more positive feelings among investors in the short term. Similarly, Ethereum would benefit from climbing above $2,100 to relieve some current downward pressure.
The market is still being careful. While the recent contract expirations led to some traders closing out positions, it hasn’t sparked a significant increase in buying.
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2026-05-29 12:42