Over $14 billion worth of Bitcoin options expire on Friday, with the market closely watching the $75,000 "magnetic price level."

Bitcoin’s market this week is迎來 a highly anticipated derivatives event. Cryptocurrency options exchange Deribit will see approximately $14.16 billion worth of Bitcoin options expire and settle this Friday. Market structure indicates that the $75,000 level may become a key “magnetic price” around this expiration.

Deribit rules show that options typically expire at 08:00 UTC on Fridays, which translates to 4:00 PM Taiwan/Hong Kong/Singapore time (UTC+8) on March 27.

As of press time, Bitcoin is trading at $71,617, with an intraday high of $71,634 and a low of $68,943, meaning there is still about a $3,400 gap between the current price and $75,000. If the market moves toward the “max pain” point, significant volatility could occur in the next two trading days. This batch of Bitcoin options expiring on Friday accounts for nearly 40% of Deribit’s open interest, making it one of the most important and representative risk events this month. According to Deribit’s contract specifications, one Bitcoin option contract corresponds to 1 BTC. Therefore, when large positions concentrate on a single expiration date, hedging, rolling over, and closing positions by traders can amplify volatility in the spot and futures markets as settlement approaches.

The so-called “max pain price” is the level at expiration where the maximum number of options buyers will experience the smallest profit or the largest loss, or where sellers will face the smallest loss or the largest profit. The max pain level for this expiration is around $75,000 (as shown above). Deribit states that as market makers hedge and large option sellers attempt to minimize payouts, this price could become a “magnetic level” for Bitcoin’s price.

According to Deribit Chief Commercial Officer Jean-David Péquignot, “Bitcoin is currently trading close to $71,000, and the max pain level at $75,000 acts as a gravitational point. Historically, this tends to prompt market makers to delta-hedge, pushing the price toward the strike price where options expire worthless.”

However, whether the market will be “pulled” toward $75,000 still depends on spot buying interest, macro risk appetite, and the direction of hedging flows before expiration. Deribit explains that the final settlement price is not a single moment’s price but the 30-minute volume-weighted average price (TWAP) of the Deribit index from 07:30 to 08:00 UTC, which translates to 3:30 PM to 4:00 PM on March 27 in UTC+8. This means the actual influence on the settlement outcome is determined by market activity during this half-hour window, from the Asian market close to the European market open.

Recent market sentiment shows that while funds are focused on whether Bitcoin can sustain its rebound, there is still a cautious stance toward risk. Demand for downside protection has risen to new highs, reflecting that even though Bitcoin has recently held above $70,000, derivatives markets remain highly alert to short-term volatility. This “price rebound with strong protective buying” structure makes this large expiration event particularly noteworthy for observation.