Bitcoin and Ethereum options: max pain, put/call ratio and fear or greed

What are big traders betting on with options? Here you can see it at a glance: where the calls (bets on a rise) and puts (bets on a fall or hedges) are, the max pain price for each expiry and whether the options market shows fear or greed. Data from Deribit and, for Bitcoin, the BlackRock IBIT ETF.

Expiries

How to read it (no prior knowledge needed)

• Call = a bet that price will be above a level. Put = a bet (or insurance) that price will be below a level. Each bar shows how many millions are bet at each price (strike).
• Big bars = walls. Large call walls above price often act as resistance and large put walls below as support, especially in the days before expiry.
• Max pain (gold line): the price where the most options expire worthless. Near expiry, price often drifts towards it. It is a tendency, not a rule.
• Put/Call: above 1 = more protection against falls (fear); below 0.6 = more bets on a rise (optimism).
• Expiries: Deribit options expire on Fridays at 08:00 UTC. Monthly and quarterly expiries (last Friday of the month) move the most money and often bring volatility.

Data: Deribit public API and Yahoo Finance (IBIT). Updated every 5 minutes. Not financial advice.