Bitcoin Traders Pile Into $82K Calls

Bitcoin options traders are focusing on the May 29 expiry on Deribit, where 80,535 contracts worth about $6.25 billion are set to settle.

Bitcoin has been trading near the upper-$77,000 range, but options activity is increasingly centered on a possible move higher into expiry.

$82K Call Leads May 29 Options Trading

The BTC May 29 $82,000 call was the most actively traded Bitcoin options instrument on Thursday. About 1,600 contracts changed hands, equal to roughly $126 million in notional value.

That points to concentrated upside positioning even though spot Bitcoin remains below the strike. The trade shows some investors are positioning for a move toward the low-$80,000 range before the contracts settle.

$80K Strike Holds Largest Bitcoin Call Wall

The most active contract is not the same as the largest concentration of open interest. Deribit positioning shows the heaviest put concentration at the $75,000 strike, worth about $394 million in notional value.

The largest call open-interest concentration sits at the $80,000 strike, worth about $532 million. The put-call ratio stands at 0.86, suggesting mildly bullish positioning rather than a fully one-sided market.

$75K Max Pain Remains Below Spot Price

The key downside reference level is still $75,000, which is also the max pain price for the May 29 expiry. Max pain is the level where the largest number of options contracts would expire worthless. Traders often watch it as a level spot prices may gravitate toward into settlement.

With Bitcoin still trading above that level, the market is caught between downside pressure toward $75,000 and upside call interest around $80,000 to $82,000.

Deribit Open Interest Overtakes IBIT Options

Deribit’s total Bitcoin options open interest has climbed to about $31.3 billion. That puts it back ahead of BlackRock’s IBIT options open interest of roughly $27 billion.

The shift shows short-term market attention moving back toward crypto-native derivatives positioning ahead of the May 29 expiry.

$75K Max Pain Battles $82K Upside Bets 

The setup leaves traders watching whether Bitcoin can move toward $80,000 to $82,000 or drift back toward $75,000.

A push above $80,000 could increase hedging demand and support upside momentum into the crowded $82,000 call trade.

If spot stays near current levels or weakens, many of those upside bets could expire worthless and market focus may return to the $75,000 max pain level.