Bitcoin options markets are heading into a major expiry event, with roughly $6.25 billion in contracts tied to Bitcoin set to expire on May 29, according to data from Deribit.

Positioning is heavily concentrated around two key strike levels. The $75,000 area holds the largest put exposure at about $394 million in notional value, while the $80,000 strike leads call positioning with roughly $532 million. These clusters are expected to act as important reference points for price action into settlement.

The max pain level—where the greatest number of options would expire worthless—is also centered at $75,000. With Bitcoin trading near $77,250, just above that level, the setup suggests a mild downward bias could emerge as traders and market makers hedge positions into expiry.

Overall positioning shows 43,184 call contracts versus 37,351 puts, giving a put/call ratio of 0.86. This reflects a slightly bullish lean in sentiment, although proximity to max pain keeps downside risk active heading into expiration.

Despite that bias, trading activity at higher strikes signals continued upside speculation. The $82,000 call for the May 29 expiry was the most actively traded contract on Thursday, with around 1,600 contracts changing hands—worth roughly $126 million in notional exposure. The flow suggests some traders are still positioning for a breakout rather than range-bound trading.

Total open interest across the expiry stands at about 80,535 contracts, split between calls and puts.

Beyond this single expiry, derivatives activity continues to expand. Deribit now holds approximately $31.3 billion in open interest, surpassing BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF at around $27 billion, according to Checkonchain data. The shift underscores the growing dominance of options markets in shaping short-term price discovery for Bitcoin.