Two large Bitcoin options expiries settled on consecutive Fridays with little effect on the cryptocurrency's price. Bitcoin remained near $64,000 after both settlements, undercutting explanations centered on dealer positioning. Attention now turns to a July 31 expiry and the upcoming Federal Reserve meeting.
About 19,000 Bitcoin options worth roughly $1.2 billion expired at 08:00 UTC on Friday on Deribit. The exchange set max pain for that expiry at $64,500, and Bitcoin closed the day at $64,140. The previous Friday saw an identical-sized expiry with a max-pain level of $63,000, after which Bitcoin moved toward $65,400.
US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net outflows of $225.2 million on Thursday, ending a seven-session inflow streak that had approached $1 billion. Sellers dominated trading activity on Thursday and Friday, with the Coinbase premium index reaching a 0.088% discount.
A single block trade accounts for much of the open interest at the $70,000 and $72,000 strikes ahead of the July 31 monthly expiry. The position, worth about $2.5 billion in gross notional, requires Bitcoin to finish above $70,000 to pay out fully. Deribit probabilities place the chance of the price touching that level during July at 14.5%.
