Coinbase Markets: $18.1 billion in Bitcoin and Ether options head for Friday expiry

Roughly $18.1 billion in notional value of Bitcoin and Ether options moves toward its quarterly expiration on Friday, Sept. 25, with calls outnumbering puts in both markets, according to Coinbase Markets. Calls convey the right to buy an asset at a set strike price, while puts convey the right to sell, which makes the put/call ratio a standard lens for reading options positioning.

Coinbase Markets reported that the open-interest put/call ratio for Bitcoin stood at 0.66, while the 24-hour volume ratio was lower at 0.37. Ether posted an open-interest ratio of 0.61 and a 24-hour volume ratio of 0.55. The desk described both books as call-heavy and noted that recent trading has skewed even more toward calls, especially in $BTC.

A separate snapshot sourced from Deribit and captured at 03:53 UTC on Sept. 23 placed $16.13 billion of Bitcoin inverse-option open interest on Friday's schedule, together with $2.16 billion in Ether, for a combined total near $18.29 billion. Inverse options are denominated in dollars but margined and settled in the underlying cryptocurrency. Gaps between that figure and Coinbase's $18.1 billion reading can emerge as prices and positions shift between snapshots.

~$18.1B in $BTC and $ETH options expire Friday. bitcoin:native : Put/call: 0.66 24h volume put/call: 0.37 ethereum:native : OI put/call: 0.61 24h volume put/call: 0.55 Both books are already call heavy, but recent flow is even more skewed toward calls, particularly in $BTC . $BTC … pic.twitter.com/eFQe6wPbaW — Coinbase Markets 🛡️ (@CoinbaseMarkets) September 23, 2026

Bitcoin options put $90,000 and $100,000 strikes in focus

Bitcoin makes up the bulk of Friday's expiration. Deribit-sourced data listed $9.61 billion in $BTC call open interest against $6.52 billion in puts for Sept. 25, which works out to a 0.68 put/call ratio at the later snapshot.

Coinbase $90,000 and $100,000 as the two zones where Bitcoin call open interest is concentrated. With $BTC changing hands near $86,500 early Wednesday, the $90,000 strike sat about 4% above spot and $100,000 nearly 16% higher. Market data put Bitcoin's Sept. 23 session range between roughly $86,149 and $86,791.

A heavy call presence does not establish that Bitcoin will reach either level before expiry. Open interest tallies outstanding contracts without showing whether each trader bought or sold the call, and many positions form parts of spreads, hedges or market-making strategies.

Put/call ratios below one indicate that calls outnumber puts under the chosen measure. Coinbase's 0.37 reading for recent $BTC options volume points to far heavier call than put trading, though volume alone cannot pin down the ultimate directional exposure of every participant.

Even so, the market has moved closer to the largest upside strikes since Coinbase's previous quarterly-expiry update. Bitcoin rallied from around $76,000 on Sept. 17 to above $86,000 this week and touched an eight-month high above $87,000 on Sept. 21.

Renewed spot demand and short covering have underpinned Bitcoin's push toward $90,000, although analysts said sustained buying would be needed to keep the advance going.

Ether options build toward $3,000 to $4,000 calls

Ether's Friday book is in dollar terms but carries a similarly call-heavy structure. Deribit-sourced data showed approximately $1.34 billion in $ETH call open interest against $820.1 million in puts for Sept. 25, in line with the 0.61 open-interest put/call ratio Coinbase reported.

Coinbase said $ETH call interest is spread across the $3,000-$4,000 band. Ether traded close to $2,760 early on Sept. 23, leaving $3,000 roughly 8.7% above spot and $4,000 around 45% higher. Market data showed $ETH ranging between about $2,750 and $2,766 on Wednesday after closing near $2,753 on Tuesday.

Ether has climbed steeply since the middle of last week. The asset changed hands near $2,416 on Sept. 16, moved through $2,600 and hit an intraday high above $2,805 on Sept. 21.

Reuters reported that $ETH had cleared a technical resistance level near $2,661.52, with its technical analysis naming $3,050 as one potential upside level if momentum continued. The projection is a chart-based scenario and does not establish where $ETH will trade into expiry.

Ethereum's earlier break above the $2,550 area turned attention toward higher resistance levels after buyers defended support near $2,400.

Friday's expiry has grown since Coinbase's Sept. 15 snapshot

Friday's notional total has expanded since Coinbase Markets published its earlier Q3 positioning data.

On Sept. 15, Coinbase put combined Bitcoin and Ethereum options open interest for the quarterly expiry at roughly $16.6 billion — about $14.73 billion in Bitcoin and $1.92 billion in Ether. At that point, $BTC's put/call ratio stood at 0.52 and $ETH's at 0.57.

Bitcoin represented nearly 89% of the $16.6 billion Q3 expiry in that snapshot, and Coinbase pegged Bitcoin's max-pain level near $72,000 and Ether's around $2,200. Max pain marks the strike at which the largest number of outstanding contracts would expire without intrinsic value, a reference point traders often track heading into large expiries.

By Sept. 23, the combined figure had climbed to roughly $18.1 billion, while reported put/call ratios had risen to 0.66 for Bitcoin and 0.61 for $ETH. The higher ratios indicate puts gained ground relative to calls compared with the earlier snapshot, even though calls still dominate overall open interest.

The larger notional should not automatically be read as an equivalent amount of new money entering the market. Notional open interest moves with both the number of outstanding contracts and the value assigned to the underlying assets, and Bitcoin and Ether prices have risen sharply since Sept. 15.

PerpFinder's Deribit-sourced methodology notes that USD open-interest figures represent contract quantities valued using forward prices. They do not measure option premiums paid, margin posted or the cash that will change hands at settlement.

Bitcoin and Ether quarterly options settle at 08:00 UTC

The Sept. 25 contracts belong to Deribit's quarterly expiry cycle. Deribit states that quarterly $BTC and $ETH options expire on the last Friday of March, June, September and December at 08:00 UTC.

Settlement for Friday's expiry uses the relevant Deribit index over the period immediately before expiration. PerpFinder's methodology states that the delivery price is based on the appropriate index's time-weighted average between 07:30 UTC and 08:00 UTC.

The size of the expiry can prompt traders and market makers to adjust hedges as option deltas shift when spot prices approach major strikes. Large open interest at $90,000, $100,000, $3,000 or $4,000 does not compel spot prices to travel toward those levels.

Deribit reports that its platform handles roughly 85% of $BTC and $ETH options activity, making its quarterly expiries a major component of the crypto derivatives market. Its August statistics showed $56.13 billion in Bitcoin options turnover and $7.14 billion in Ether options turnover for the month.

Friday's quarterly contracts are scheduled to expire at 08:00 UTC on Sept. 25. Final notional open interest, put/call ratios and strike concentrations can keep shifting until traders close, roll or add positions ahead of settlement.