Crypto Market Braces for $15B Options Expiry That Could Inject Volatility

On Friday, leading crypto options exchange Deribit will settle $15.2B in bitcoin and ether options contracts, one of its largest expiries ever.
A large portion of these options are set to expire in-the-money (ITM), which could inject upward pressure or volatility into the crypto market.
Bitcoin's max pain point for this expiry is $50K and Ethereum's is $2.6K. Prices often gravitate toward max pain around expiries.
As prices near expiry, forced dealer hedging around the $70K bitcoin strike due to their short gamma exposure could exacerbate volatility.
Post-expiry, the removal of bitcoin's max pain magnet below current prices could lead to upward pressure.