Crypto Market Braces for Bitcoin, ETH, XRP, SOL Options Expiry After $8.3T Triple Witching

Crypto market traders are bracing for heightened volatility and further liquidations after $8.3 trillion in “triple witching.” More than $2.2 billion in Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), XRP, and Solana (SOL) options expire today. Would Bitcoin fall further and the broader crypto market crash deeper amid growing headwinds?

Crypto Market Sees Massive Liquidations amid ‘Triple Witching’

The crypto market saw a massive $500 million in total liquidations across top crypto assets, according to Coinglass data. Notably, nearly $410 million in long positions and $90 million in short positions were liquidated over the last 24 hours.

Markets expected sharp moves amid the largest-ever $8.3 trillion ‘triple witching’ event, following the US Fed’s hawkish lean. Triple Witching is a quarterly event where stock options, index options, and index futures expire simultaneously, often causing high volatility.

This is turning into a larger crypto market liquidation amid no signs of a buy-the-dip, with over $150 billion liquidated this week. Notably, More than 122K traders were liquidated in the last 24 hours, with the largest single liquidation order of ETH-USDT worth $10.49 million on decentralized crypto exchange Aster.

According to data, Bitcoin, ETH, SOL, XYZ: SPCX, SPCX, SOL, HYPE, XRP, XAU, DOGE, ZEC, WLD, CL, and BNB recorded the largest liquidations, triggering a broader crypto market crash.

Traders Brace for 2.2 Billion in Bitcoin and ETH Options Expiry

According to derivatives crypto exchange Deribit data, more than 30K Bitcoin options with a notional value of $1.9 billion are set to expire on Friday. The put-call ratio of 0.77 indicates bullish sentiment among traders.

Bitcoin max pain price is at $65,000, significantly above the current market price of $62,540. amid stalled US-Iran peace talks. Derbit revealed heavy puts positioning between $55,000 and $63,000 strike prices, with most traders betting on Bitcoin crash to $60K.

Options terminal GreeksLive revealed that skew remains relatively stable but still shows a negative skew, indicating that the market remains braced for a downturn. Next week marks the quarterly settlement, with approximately 15% of positions set to expire.

Meanwhile, over 137K ETH options with a notional value of $233 million are set to expire on Deribit, with a put-call ratio of 1.03. This slightly bearish put-call ratio indicates traders expect further downside.

Moreover, the max pain price is at $1,725, higher than the current market price of $1,693 at the time of writing. In the last 24 hours, put volume has surpassed call volume and has a put/call ratio of 1.11.

Analyst Ted Pillows claimed ETH is more likely to bottom before BTC as most of the downside liquidity has been taken out. He predicts Ethereum might sweep the $1,300-$1,400 zone, but upside liquidity will start to look more interesting.

XRP and SOL Risks Falling amid Crypto Market Panic

Over $5.78 million in XRP options to expire today, with a put-call ratio of 1.07. The max pain price is at $1.14, but traders continue to bet for $2.1 and $2.2 strikes prices in September.

XRP price today is witnessing volatility amid a drop to a low of $1.12, while BTC faces selloff risks. The price is trading at $1.13, but volume remained low after the crypto market liquidations. CME Group sued CFTC following Kalshi’s launch of Bitcoin, ETH, XRP and HYPE perpetual futures.

Meanwhile, more than $12.59 million in SOL options to expire, with a put-call ratio of 0.86. The max pain price is at $70, with traders eyeing $65 and $67 levels.

SOL price is trading 4% down in the last 24 hours, currently at $68.61. The 24-hour high and low are $72.05 and $68.20, respectively. Trading volume has plunged 11% over the last 24 hours, indicating a lack of interest amid crypto market uncertainty.