TL;DR:
- The $1.85 billion options expiry on Deribit this Friday arrives right in the middle of the worst crypto week since July 2024.
- Bitcoin fell nearly 15% on the week and Ethereum more than 17%. Liquidations reached around $1.2 billion in 24 hours, with 76% corresponding to long positions.
- The one-week 25-delta skew doubled from 13% to 27%, while the BTC put/call ratio stands at 0.56 with max pain at $71,000.
The crypto market is going through its worst week since July 2024. Bitcoin is trading around $62,500, down more than 15% since the start of the week, while Ethereum has dropped more than 17% and is trading at its lowest level since April 2025, when it bounced exactly at $1,420. A break below that support would open the door to 2022 bear market territory, when ETH lost the $900 level.
On top of that, the options expiry with a notional value of approximately $1.85 billion on Deribit this Friday, June 5, is commanding the market’s attention. BTC contracts account for $1.56 billion with a put/call ratio of 0.56 and a max pain level at $71,000, roughly $8,000 above the current spot price, which means most contracts expire out of the money. ETH contracts total $252 million, with max pain at $2,000 and a put/call ratio of 0.97, reflecting a far more balanced positioning between bulls and bears.
🚨 Options Expiry Alert 🚨
At 08:00 UTC tomorrow, ~$1.81B in crypto options are set to expire on Deribit.$BTC: $1.56B notional | P/C: 0.56 | Max Pain: $71K$ETH: $252M notional | P/C: 0.97 | Max Pain: $2KBTC spot is trading ~$8K below max pain after a brutal week that saw… pic.twitter.com/qmXv8uhHFr
— Deribit (@DeribitOfficial) June 4, 2026
Defensive Positioning Anticipates Further Decline in the Crypto Market
Derivatives positioning has shifted clearly toward the defensive throughout the week. BTC open interest dropped 15% to $17 billion, funding rates turned negative across multiple platforms and on Deribit reached -15% annualized. The three-month annualized basis contracted from 2.9% to 2.7%, confirming a reduction in institutional appetite for cryptocurrencies.
The one-week 25-delta skew doubled, moving from 13% to 27%, signaling a sharp escalation in demand for protection against further declines. Front-end implied volatility, as measured by Deribit’s DVOL index, climbed to 47, consistent with the broad-based deleveraging process underway.
According to data from Coinglass, $1.2 billion in liquidations were recorded in the past 24 hours. Bitcoin leads the table with $364 million, followed by Ethereum with $291 million. Monthly spot crypto volume fell to $679 billion in April, the lowest level since October 2023, according to CryptoQuant, evidencing a structural contraction in crypto demand.
Capital Redistribution and the Zcash Collapse
Michael Saylor, chief executive officer of Strategy, attributed the correction to a capital rotation toward artificial intelligence IPOs in the United States. Among the additional factors driving pressure is the collapse of more than 30% in Zcash following the discovery of an exploit that allegedly allowed unlimited token minting, a contagion that also hit Monero and Dash.
According to the latest data from CoinMarketCap, all major cryptocurrencies are trading lower, accumulating weekly losses ranging from 5% to 20%, with the exception of Hyperliquid, which moved just 1% on the week. BNB is trading at $590, XRP hovers around $1.12, Solana is approaching $66. TRX stands at $0.3245 and HYPE remains above $61.
