Bitcoin Loses Its Price Anchor After $6.4 Billion Options Expiry

Bitcoin options worth $6.4 billion settled on Friday morning at $79,682, ending the hedging flows that had kept the cryptocurrency near $80,000 throughout the week.

Options expiry details

Approximately 81,700 contracts settled on Deribit at 08:00 UTC, with the official settlement price of $79,682.33. Calls at the $80,000 strike expired worthless, missing the price by $318, while calls at $75,000 paid out. The two strikes held the most notional value, with $236 million in calls at $75,000 and $157 million in calls at $80,000.

Market impact

When traders sell options, market makers hedge by buying or selling the underlying asset, creating a “magnet” that kept Bitcoin inside a narrow range. With the expiry, that magnet switched off, allowing price levels to shift.

Sell wall shift

Analyst Ted Pillows identified a sell wall of roughly 1,052 BTC at $80,500 across four venues. By 11:24 UTC, that wall had largely disappeared, leaving only 101 BTC at that level on Kraken and Coinbase combined. Sell orders have now clustered at $82,000, with 173 BTC available at that price—the largest depth above spot on the two exchanges.

Future strike concentration

Deribit data shows the September 4 expiry has 5,931 contracts at the $82,000 strike, representing 22 % of the total open contracts for that date, the heaviest concentration observed.

Fed involvement

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh delivered his first keynote at the Fed’s annual symposium, which highlighted cryptocurrencies and stablecoins as a primary agenda item. The symposium’s focus on financial innovation underscores the Fed’s heightened interest in the sector.

The Fed’s policy stance remains uncertain. In July, the target range was held at 3.50 %–3.75 %, with three officials dissenting and advocating for a quarter‑point hike. Market participants assign roughly a one‑in‑three probability to a rate increase at the September 16 meeting.

Looking ahead

Bitcoin’s spot price sat near $79,699 on Friday, up 0.2 % over 24 hours. The next major options expiry on September 25 holds 155,393 contracts—about 40 % of all open Bitcoin options on Deribit—and settles nine days after the Fed’s next policy decision. The heaviest strike for that expiry is $70,000, with calls outnumbering puts two‑to‑one, suggesting a new price anchor may form around that date.