Options expiry contracts worth $2.6 billion across Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Solana settled on Deribit on May 15, triggering widespread market liquidations. According to Deribit data, approximately 25,000 Bitcoin options with a notional value exceeding $2 billion rolled off, alongside Ethereum, XRP, and Solana contracts. Crypto prices tumbled and pared almost all of Thursday's Clarity Act-driven gains as the expiry landed, creating significant market pressure across the cryptocurrency sector.
Bitcoin's max pain price sits at $80,000, slightly below current market levels, as reported by Deribit data. The put-call ratio of 0.57 reflects more calls than puts, indicating broadly bullish positioning heading into the event. However, the 25 delta skew rose sharply, signalling that the market is paying a premium for downside protection in the near term. This divergence between the put-call ratio and delta skew suggests traders are pricing in near-term downside risk despite overall bullish positioning.
XRP fell from a 24-hour high of $1.55 to $1.45 as traders repositioned ahead of the expiry, according to crypto.news reports. Solana recorded $17.03 million in expiring options with a put-call ratio of 1.03 and slid 3% against its own expiry. The expiry settled alongside fresh macro pressure, with US Treasury yields hitting 12-month highs after hotter-than-expected CPI and PPI data for April reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will hold rates higher for longer.
CME FedWatch now shows markets pricing a 44% probability of a Fed rate hike by December, up sharply from 22.5% a week ago, as reported by crypto.news. The macro headwinds add pressure to crypto markets, with the combination of large options expiry events and rising interest rate expectations creating additional volatility. Expiry events of this size typically create short-term price gravity toward the max pain level as market makers manage hedges into the close.
