Imminent $15 Billion Options Expiry Sparks Volatility Fears

In Brief

• Around $15 billion in Bitcoin and Ethereum options are expiring today, causing fear.
• Analysts expect turbulence as market makers adjust positions, but volatility may be small.
• Despite cautionary warnings, strong open interest and a pre-expiry rally reflect growing trader optimism.

Shedrach Kongvong 2025-11-28

Roughly $15 billion in Bitcoin and Ethereum options are set to expire today. This has sparked fears of volatility as such expirations usually lead to wide price variations not just for Bitcoin but also for the rest of the market.

A crypto influencer reminded his followers of the possibility for a huge volatility in the market as a result of the options expiry. With such volatility comes potential losses as the market can face major corrections, hence the increased fear.

REMINDER 🚨

$14,935,000,000 in Bitcoin and Ethereum options are set to expire today.

Huge volatility expected! pic.twitter.com/Kbz0jzRK10

— Ash Crypto (@AshCrypto) November 28, 2025

What to Expect in this Options Expiration

Options are contracts that give traders a right to buy or sell an asset — in this case Bitcoin and Ethereum — at a certain fixed price before a particular expiry date. If the traders do not fulfill the contract, the options expire on the agreed date, which is today.

With such expirations comes high volatility as market makers aggressively make last minute adjustments. While price crashes have marked previous options expiry, this time may be a bit different. According to Inspired Analyst on X, the expiry this time may cause short-term volatility between shorts and longs.

He explained that this is due to the Thanksgiving holiday which has led to lower volumes and by extension lowered the potential size of price movements, resulting in more of an oscillating movement rather than a clear upward or downward trend.

$15.4B worth of Bitcoin & Ethereum options expire today
Expiration is at 8am UTC, so we’re already in the window.

The max pain level was around $102k, but we didn’t see any push toward it.
Normally market makers try to drag price toward max pain (that’s where most options expire… pic.twitter.com/inHYDBkxU9

— Inspired Analyst (@inspirdanalyst) November 28, 2025

Meanwhile, options trading platform Derbit has reported record open interest ahead of the Bitcoin options expiry, which signals a bullish confidence. According to a report, Bitcoin traders are anticipating a rally north of $100,000 but with cautious hedges between $85K and $80K.

Bitcoin and Ethereum Rally Ahead of Options Expiry

Bitcoin and ethereum started a “Thanksgiving rally” roughly 72 hours to the options expiry, which is still on. Bitcoin has safely breached the resistance at $91,000 while Ethereum is back above $3,000 just hours before the expiry.

The optimism of traders such as those on Deribit suggests there is more upward potential before the big event. However, analysts still warn that caution must be applied around this time to avoid serious losses.