Bitcoin's Quarterly Options Expiry: Sept 25, 2026

Key takeaways

Deribit runs monthly Bitcoin options expiries, with the March, June, September and December dates designated 'quarterly' and carrying by far the largest open interest of the year.
The next one is September 25, 2026, per exchange reporting at the time of writing — check Deribit's own options metrics for the current notional value, which changes daily.
'Max pain' is the price where the largest number of expiring options finish worthless — a real, calculable number, not a target, and one that moves constantly as positioning shifts.
A spot exchange holding cannot benefit from a fall into the expiry; a crypto CFD account can be opened short.
This guide explains the mechanism. It does not print a specific notional value or max-pain price, because both are stale within hours of being measured.

What a quarterly options expiry actually is

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

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 activity 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 specific max-pain price and the total notional expiring both change by the hour as new contracts open and close, which is why they are not printed as fixed numbers here. Check Deribit's own options metrics, or a tracker that pulls from it directly, for the current figures.

The two ways to actually be positioned for it

A spot exchange holding only benefits if price moves in your favor 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.

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?

September 25, 2026, per exchange reporting at the time of writing. Deribit runs this expiry on the last Friday of March, June, September and December every year.

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 at all, subject to the broker's leverage cap and a daily financing charge while the position stays open.