Bitcoin Oct. 16 Options: $451M at $76K-$80K Strikes

Bitcoin puts expiring Oct. 16 concentrate roughly $451 million in notional value at the $76,000, $78,000 and $80,000 strikes, according to an Oct.

Bitcoin puts expiring Oct. 16 concentrate roughly $451 million in notional value at the $76,000, $78,000 and $80,000 strikes, according to an Oct. 12 Deribit snapshot. With Bitcoin trading near $82,436, down 1.4% over 24 hours, all three strikes sit below spot but close enough to anchor trader attention into Friday’s settlement.

Bitcoin’s Oct. 16 put expiry at a glance

KEY POINTS

The Oct. 16 Bitcoin options expiry carries about $451 million in put notional across three strikes: $80,000, $78,000 and $76,000.
The expiry snapshot shows 9,128 BTC in puts versus 6,373 BTC in calls, a put-to-call ratio of 1.43.
Seven-day at-the-money implied volatility sits at 32.01%, easing from roughly 34.5% a week earlier.

The Oct. 16 expiry covers a total of 15,502 BTC in outstanding options, split between 9,128 BTC in puts and 6,373 BTC in calls. That skew puts the put-to-call ratio at 1.43, meaning puts outnumber calls by nearly half again. For related coverage, see Moscow Exchange to Launch Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT Trading.

Oct. 16 BTC options

1.43

Put-to-call open-interest ratio

Put notional for the expiry sums to roughly $451 million across the three headline strikes, representing nearly 35% of the reported $1.29 billion total expiry. The three strikes together signal where a meaningful portion of bearish hedging or downside positioning is anchored ahead of Friday’s close. For related coverage, see Altcoin Gains 53% as Bitcoin Holds Near $83,000.

Oct. 16 BTC puts

$451 million

Put notional at the $76k, $78k and $80k strikes

What the $76,000, $78,000 and $80,000 strikes mean

A put option gives the holder the right to sell Bitcoin at the strike price before or at expiry. High notional at a given strike signals that traders have paid for protection, or established a bearish position, at that level. Notional concentration does not guarantee that Bitcoin will trade to those levels; it reflects where hedges and directional bets are clustered.

$80,000 strike

The $80,000 strike carries the largest single-strike put notional in the expiry at approximately $188 million. With Bitcoin near $82,436, this strike is roughly 3% below spot, making it the closest of the three to current prices and therefore the most immediately relevant heading into expiry.

$78,000 strike

The $78,000 strike accounts for about $162 million in put notional, the second-largest concentration among the three. Traders watching Bitcoin’s recent resistance near $85,000 will note that $78,000 represents a roughly 5% downside from current spot, a level that could attract attention if price softens into the weekend.

$76,000 strike

The $76,000 strike holds around $101 million in put notional. Adding the three levels confirms the reported aggregate: $188 million plus $162 million plus $101 million equals $451 million. The $76,000 level sits approximately 8% below current prices, a deeper out-of-the-money position that likely reflects tail-risk hedging rather than near-term directional conviction.

Why traders may watch the Oct. 16 expiry

Options expiries concentrate activity around specific strikes as positions are either exercised, rolled, or allowed to expire worthless. When a single expiry clusters $451 million in put notional across a tight $4,000 range, dealers managing those positions may adjust hedges as spot approaches or crosses those levels, creating an observable feedback loop between the options market and spot price.

Laevitas data cited in the report puts seven-day at-the-money implied volatility at 32.01%, down from roughly 34.5% a week earlier. The compression in implied volatility suggests the market is not pricing a sharp near-term move, even as the put concentration remains elevated. The broader Fear & Greed Index sits at 69, classified as Greed, indicating the wider market is not broadly fearful heading into expiry.

Bitcoin ETF flows add another lens: spot ETF outflows recently hit a three-month high, a signal that institutional demand is cooling at current levels. Separately, Bitcoin has been struggling to break $84,000 resistance, keeping spot within striking distance of the $80,000 put cluster.

The key variables to monitor into Friday: Bitcoin’s spot price relative to the $80,000, $78,000 and $76,000 strikes; any intraday moves that push price into the $80,000 zone; and the Oct. 16 8:00 UTC Deribit settlement, after which the put positions expire and the associated hedging pressure dissipates.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency and digital asset markets carry significant risk. Always do your own research before making decisions.