Ethereum bulls may reemerge after March $1.15B ETH options expiry

摘要： Up to $1.15 billion worth of Ether options are set to expire on March 26, and data suggests bullish traders may make a show of force after the expiry.

Over the past two months, the open interest on Ether (ETH) options increased by 50% to reach $3.1 billion, with ETH price gaining 44% in that time period. Ether's price appreciation and the rising options open interest has resulted in a potentially historic $1.15 billion expiry set for March 26.

Ether options aggregate open interest. Source: Cryptorank

Most exchanges offer monthly exposures, although a few also hold weekly options for short-term contracts. February faced the most significant expiry on record, with $630 million worth of options contracts, and this figure represented 23% of all the open interest at that time.

Ether options aggregate open interest by expiry. Source: Bybt

The above data shows that Ether's March 26 expiry holds 631,000 ETH contracts. That unusual concentration translates to 39% of its open interest set to expire in eight days.

It is worth noting that not every option will trade at expiry, as some of those strikes now sound unreasonable, especially considering there is roughly a week left.

Not all options are alike

Unlike futures contracts, options are divided into two segments. Call (buy) options allow the buyer to acquire Ether at a fixed price on the expiry date. Generally speaking, these are used on either neutral arbitrage trades or bullish strategies.

Meanwhile, the put (sell) options are commonly used as a hedge or protection from negative price swings.

To understand how these competing forces are balanced, one should compare the calls and put options size at each expiry price (strike).

March 26 aggregate Ether options open interest. Source: Bybt

Options markets are an all-or-nothing game, meaning they either have value or become worthless if trading above the call strike price, or the opposite for put option holders.

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