Bitcoin Quarterly Options Expiry: Dec 25, 2026

Key takeaways

Next quarterly expiry: December 25, 2026, 08:00 UTC — the last Friday of the quarter, and Christmas Day this year.
Monthly expiry before it: November 27, 2026.
The 2027 quarterlies already listed on Deribit: March 26, June 25 and September 24.
'Max pain' is the price where the largest value of expiring options finishes worthless — calculable, not a target, and it moves as positioning shifts.
This guide does not print a notional value or max-pain price, because both are stale within hours.

What a quarterly options expiry actually is

Deribit is the largest venue for Bitcoin options, and it settles contracts at 08:00 UTC on a recurring schedule. The last Friday of March, June, September and December are the quarterly expiries, where contracts opened months earlier all come due at once. Open interest on those dates is routinely several times larger than on an ordinary monthly expiry.

The September 25 quarterly has settled. The next one falls on December 25, 2026, when holiday liquidity is typically thin — one more reason the days around it can move more than usual.

Upcoming Deribit BTC option expiries (08:00 UTC)
Date	Type
November 27, 2026	Monthly
December 25, 2026	Quarterly
March 26, 2027	Quarterly
June 25, 2027	Quarterly
September 24, 2027	Quarterly

Why it can move price, and what it doesn't tell you

As an expiry approaches, market makers who sold options hedge their exposure by buying or selling the underlying asset, and that hedging can pull price toward the 'max pain' level — the strike where the largest dollar value of options expires worthless. This is a documented tendency around large expiries, not a rule that holds every quarter, and it says nothing about where price goes afterward.

The max-pain price and the total notional expiring both change by the hour as contracts open and close, which is why they are not printed here. Check Deribit's own options page for the current figures.

The two ways to actually be positioned for it

A spot exchange holding only benefits if price moves in your favour into the expiry, and there is nothing to do about a move the other way except sell beforehand. A CFD account is a contract with a broker, not the coin, and can be opened long or short ahead of the date, inside the leverage cap that applies to the entity opening the account — 2:1 for retail clients under FCA and CySEC rules. Other dates that move crypto this quarter are in our Fed meeting calendar.

Exchange versus CFD, around an options expiry
	Exchange (spot)	Crypto CFD
Can you profit if price falls	No — long only	Yes — can open short
Leverage available	None	Up to 2:1 for retail (FCA/CySEC)
What you hold afterward	The coin	A cash-settled contract
Overnight cost while open	None	Daily financing charge

Frequently asked questions

When is the next Bitcoin quarterly options expiry?

Friday, December 25, 2026, at 08:00 UTC, per Deribit's own list of live contracts. One monthly expiry falls before it, on November 27 (October 30 has settled).

What is 'max pain' in options trading?

The strike price at which the largest total value of expiring options finishes worthless — a real, calculable number that market makers' hedging can pull price toward, though it is not a target and it shifts as positioning changes.

Does an options expiry guarantee a price move?

No. Price tends to get pulled toward the max-pain level as expiring positions are hedged, but this is a documented tendency around large expiries, not a rule that holds every quarter.

Can I trade an options expiry without holding options myself?

Yes — a crypto CFD account lets you take a long or short position on the underlying price ahead of the expiry without touching the options market, subject to the broker's leverage cap and a daily financing charge while the position stays open.