Expiry options contracts worth $2.6 billion on Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP and Solana were completed on Deribit on May 15, triggering widespread market sell-offs.
Summary
- Around 25,000 Bitcoin options with a notional value of over $2 billion expired on Deribit on May 15, with a maximum price of $80,000.
- BTC’s put-call ratio of 0.57 signals overall bullish positioning, but a growing delta skew of 25 shows traders are pricing in near-term downside risk.
- XRP fell from a 24-hour high of $1.55 to $1.45 as traders repositioned, while Solana slipped 3% from its own $17 million expiration today.
According to Deribit data, around 25,000 Bitcoin options with a notional value of over $2 billion were launched on May 15, alongside Ethereum, XRP and Solana contracts, bringing the total to $2.6 billion. Crypto prices fell and pared almost all of the gains generated by Thursday’s Clarity Act as expiration arrived.
Bitcoin’s peak price sits at $80,000, slightly below current market levels. The put-call ratio of 0.57 reflects more calls than puts, indicating overall bullish positioning heading into the event. However, the delta skew of 25 has risen sharply, signaling that the market is paying a premium to protect against short-term declines.
Macro headwinds add pressure
The expiration set in alongside new macroeconomic pressure. U.S. Treasury yields rose to a 12-month high on May 15 after higher-than-expected CPI and PPI data for April reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve would keep rates higher for longer. CME FedWatch now shows that markets are pricing in a 44% chance of a Fed rate hike by December, up sharply from 22.5% a week ago.
As crypto.news noted, expiration events of this size typically create short-term price gravity toward the maximum pain level as market makers manage hedges to close. XRP fell from $1.55 to $1.45 as traders adjusted their positions, while Solana recorded $17.03 million in expiring options with a put-call ratio of 1.03 and slipped 3%.
Glassnode data cited in derivatives reports shows that current Bitcoin capital inflows are lower than in previous bullish phases. As crypto.news has tracked, previous large expiration events have often produced volatility compression in the days following settlement, before the next directional move is established.
