Key Points

• Tomorrow morning, a significant amount of Bitcoin and Ethereum options will expire.
• BTC is trading above $96,000 and ETH is priced above $3,300.

Tomorrow morning, Deribit’s largest options expiration event will take place. According to Deribit, the high options expiry set for December 27 could trigger intense volatility in the crypto market.

December 27 Bitcoin and Ethereum Options Expiry Data

Tomorrow, at 08:00 (UTC) 146,000 BTC options contracts valued at about $14 billion will expire on the crypto exchange Deribit.

The notional amount represents 44% of the total open interest for all BTC options across different maturities, and it represents the largest expiry event ever recorded on Deribit.

Also, ETH options worth around $3.84 billion will expire on December 27 as well.

Deribit accounts for more than 80% of the global crypto options market.

This annual record expiry data will conclude a remarkable year for the bulls, having the potential to shape the narrative of the beginning of 2025, according to Deribit’s Chief Executive Officer Luuk Strijers.

A Lack of Clarity in the Market

Important options-based metrics show a lack of clarity in the market regarding potential price movements ahead of tomorrow’s significant options expiry. Strijers also said that directional uncertainty lingers, highlighted by high volatility of volatility (vol-of-vol).

Vol-of-vol is a measure of fluctuations in an asset’s volatility. The metric measures the volatility of the degree of price turbulence of an asset and how much it fluctuates.

A high vol-of-vol translates into increased sensitivity to news and economic data, triggering rapid changes in asset prices, and requiring aggressive position adjustment and hedging.

Today, BTC recorded a price drop to $95,000 levels ahead of a reversal above $96,000, and ETH trades above $3,300.

Bitcoin Trades Above $96,000

At the moment of writing this article, BTC is trading above $96,000, after an earlier price drop to $95,700.

In the last 24 hours, BTC recorded over $65 million in liquidations, $48.1 million in long positions, and $17.4 million in shorts, according to CoinGlass data.

However, earlier this morning, BTC got close to $100,000, fueled by recent news about MicroStrategy’s plans to issue 10 billion shares, meaning over $3 trillion in potential BTC investments in the future.

Considering that January will bring the new Trump administration in the US with more crypto-friendly policies and a Strategic BTC Reserve recently confirmed by the newly-elected President, the market volatility triggered by the significant amount of options set to expire tomorrow will likely pass following the New Year.

The crypto market will most likely continue its bullish trajectory, potentially taking BTC to new ATHs.

Ethereum also recorded a price drop earlier today, ahead of a quick reversal.

Ethereum Trades Above $3,300

After trading above $3,500 earlier today, ETH’s price recorded a drop to $3,348, ahead of a rebound above $3,370.

In the past 24 hours, ETH recorded liquidations of over $51 million, $39.5 million in long positions, and $21.1 million in shorts, Coinglass data shows.

Research analyst at Block Scholes, Andrew Melville, reveals there’s a more bearish outlook for ETH compared to BTC, with ETH’s implied volume of calls dropping significantly. This translates into a decreased demand for bullish bets.

While 2024 has been a bullish year for BTC, especially following the approval of BTC ETFs in the US, ETH was a weaker performer failing to reach its previous ATH, despite the launch of ETH ETFs.

However, considering that 2025 will see the crypto market flourish more and adoption intensify, ETH could see better performance as well. Meanwhile, BTC is expected to reach $160,000 and surpass the 8% adoption threshold.