How Will BTC and ETH React?

Another week is over, and it’s the end of the month, which means a large batch of Bitcoin and Ether options contracts are expiring while the spot markets cool down again.

About 115,500 Bitcoin options contracts will expire on Friday, Feb. 27, with an estimated net worth of $7.8 billion. This event is bigger than usual because it is the end of the month, so there may be a little volatility in the existing markets.

Crypto markets have seen a bit of daylight with the mid-week lift, but the overall currency remains the same as gains start to erode again, and reversals show that they are still in bearish territory.

Bitcoin Options Expiration

This week’s batch of Bitcoin options contracts has a put/call ratio of 0.76, meaning there are more expiring calls (longs) than puts (shorts). The biggest pain is around $75,000, according to Coinglass, which is much higher than the current prices, many will be out of money when it expires.

Open interest (OI), or the amount or number of Bitcoin options contracts yet to expire, remains very high at $60,000 with $1.5 billion and $1.1 billion at $50,000 strike prices on Deribit as bearish bets increase. The total number of OI BTC options on all exchanges has been increasing this month and has reached $37 billion.

“In the current range, it is not surprising to see continued (defensive and bearish) plays in BTC,” Deribit said this week.

“Call OI dominates both assets, with BTC carrying the largest settlement weight.”

🚨 Out of Options Alert 🚨
At 08:00 UTC tomorrow, over $8.8B of crypto options are scheduled to expire on Deribit.$BTC: ~$7.8B assuming | Install/Dial: 0.76 | Big pain: $75K $ETH: ~$961M psychologically | Install/Dial: 0.77 | Extreme pain: $2,200

Call OI dominates both assets, with BTC holding the… pic.twitter.com/5r8MjeQtJ9

– Deribit (@DeribitOfficial) February 26, 2026

Derivatives provider Greeks Live said options expirations accounted for 20% of total open interest, amounting to nearly $9 billion, with the share of the Bitcoin position reaching a multi-year high.

“The market is always in bearish territory. At the moment, the crypto space lacks both new income and clear utilities, with pessimistic narratives dominating social media. A market decline is almost impossible.”

In addition to today’s pile of Bitcoin options, about 477,000 Ethereum contracts are also expiring, with a symbolic value of $963 million, the maximum pain at $2,200, and a put/call ratio of 0.77. Total OI ETH options on all exchanges are around $6.6 billion. This brings the total value of crypto options expiring to around $9 billion.

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Spot Market Outlook

Markets returned to the red again today as the total value fell 1.3% below $2.4 trillion. Bitcoin failed to hold above $68,000 and fell back below $67,000 during morning trading in Asia on Friday morning.

Ethereum is hovering around the $2,000 level and is likely to fall below it again as any hopes of a relief rally fade.