Bitcoin and Ethereum will face minimal impact ahead of the expiration of options worth up to $11 billion at the end of the year.

As the year approaches, Bitcoin and Ethereum prices are gearing up for significant events. That means the largest options expiration in history is worth over $11 billion. However, contrary to what many expect, tomorrow’s expiration date appears to have minimal impact on the markets.

Bitcoin is far from its Max Pain Point (MPP).

Bitcoin bulls are rejoicing as BTC’s surge will benefit their positions during tomorrow’s options expiration. Bitcoin (BTC) continues to show strong support, maintaining a position above $40,000 as the final quarterly options expiration of 2023 approaches.

This Friday, at 08:00 UTC, $7.7 billion in BTC options and $3.5 billion in ETH options are scheduled to expire on the Deribit cryptocurrency exchange.

The amount exceeding $11 billion sets a new record for Deribit, making it the largest maturity to date. Notably, nearly $5 billion of these options are poised to expire profitably, the highest figure to date, which could lead to higher levels of hedging and trading activity than usual.

For Bitcoin, the put/call ratio is 0.67, favoring a bullish position with 106K call options. The nominal value is $7.586 billion and the maximum problem is $33,000.

Bitcoin’s MPP indicates where an option buyer can incur maximum loss upon expiration. Option sellers often try to push the Bitcoin price to this point. However, as BTC’s MPP is currently far from its current price, a major move towards this point before Friday’s expiration is believed to be highly unlikely.

To minimize losses before expiration, bears would need to drive the price down to $41,900. Bulls, on the other hand, are targeting a rise above $44,000 to take a $1.2 billion advantage. This potential profit for the call option holder could result in further price increases prior to the ETF decision.

Ethereum’s $2,300 Trading Brings Confidence

There was a notable increase in the value of cryptocurrencies this quarter, with Bitcoin soaring 62% and Ethereum surging 45%. This upward trend led investors to seek higher profits through call options, which led to high levels of open interest through large in-the-money (ITM) call options.

Examining Ethereum options data shows that bulls have made huge profits from call options, especially since the price of Ethereum recently surpassed $2,300. Ethereum’s Max Pain Point (MPP) is $1,900, with a nominal $259 million worth of call options currently concentrated in ITM. The put-call ratio is 0.51, indicating a strong preference for call options.

Given that the price of Ethereum is well above the MPP of $1,900, it is unlikely that we will experience bearish volatility while remaining bullish in the market. However, to cut losses, bears will aim to take Ethereum price below $2,200.

Conversely, with the second-highest call option concentration at $2,500 ($238 million), bulls stand to profit by pushing Ethereum price above $2,500 by December 29th at 8:00 AM EST. no see.