Deribit Bitcoin Calls Cluster at $95,000 Before Oct. 30 Expiry

Bitcoin (BTC) options positioning is concentrated at higher strikes on Deribit, with approximately $4.53 billion in call open interest across the $90,000, $95,000 and $100,000 levels for Oct. 30 expiration.

Bitcoin was trading at $82,954 at 11:54 a.m. ET (15:54 UTC) on Oct. 10. The largest reported Deribit position was tied to $95,000 calls, which held 25,030.6 BTC in open interest, valued at about $2.07 billion using an $82,800 Bitcoin price.

Deribit’s $90,000 calls represented 15,158 BTC of open interest, while Deribit’s $100,000 calls accounted for 14,561.8 BTC. Together with the $95,000 calls, the three strike levels totaled approximately 54,750 BTC.

Calls accounted for 60.24% of outstanding Bitcoin options interest, or 268,357.06 BTC, compared with 177,147.85 BTC in puts. Calls also represented 54.02% of 24-hour options volume, against 45.98% for puts.

The concentration does not establish that traders uniformly expect higher prices. Open interest measures outstanding derivatives contracts rather than new purchases, and call positions can reflect bought exposure, written options or hedging strategies.

A separate reading placed open interest in the Oct. 30 $95,000 calls at 24,398 BTC, valued at about $2.1 billion when Bitcoin traded at $85,893. The difference may reflect separate observation times or changes in positions.

Max-pain estimates provided a lower counterpoint to the higher-strike call concentration. For Oct. 30 contracts, the estimate was near $78,000 on Deribit and between $81,000 and $82,000 on Binance and OKX. Max pain is a theoretical level where the combined payout to option holders would be lowest. It is not a guaranteed settlement price or a forecast.

For Dec. 25 contracts, max-pain estimates were near $75,000 on Deribit, $62,500 on Binance and $75,000 on OKX.

Bitcoin futures open interest stood at $51.7 billion, equivalent to approximately 624,450 BTC, down 1.59% over 24 hours in the Oct. 10 snapshot. Binance accounted for $10.78 billion, followed by CME at $8.88 billion, Bybit at $5.38 billion and Gate at $4.34 billion.

The options and futures figures describe market positioning but do not show whether traders are buying exposure, writing options or hedging other positions. Higher call strikes drew attention without establishing a uniform market view.