Ethereum options book turns defensive as Deribit expiry nears $1,875 max pain
Deribit data shows ETH put/call ratio at 1.29 into Friday's expiry, with SOL neutral and XRP split between open interest and volume.
Options positioning on Deribit, the dominant venue for crypto derivatives, has tilted defensively for Ethereum ahead of Friday’s expiry, with outstanding contracts weighted more heavily toward puts than calls even as Solana and XRP told a more mixed story. The data offers a rare window into how institutional and professional traders are hedging exposure at a moment when spot prices for all three assets were sliding.
At 3:40 a.m. ET on Friday, Deribit recorded 124,943 same-day expiring Ethereum options contracts, equivalent to roughly $233.5 million in notional value. Solana’s equivalent figure stood at 11,382 contracts (about $8.61 million), while XRP’s was considerably smaller at 1,944 contracts (around $2.16 million) — a reminder of how thin XRP’s derivatives market remains relative to its two peers.
Put/call ratios diverge across assets
Ethereum’s open-interest put/call ratio of 1.29 pointed to bearish bets and downside hedges dominating the outstanding book heading into expiry. Solana’s ratio of 0.82 suggested a broadly neutral stance with a slight tilt toward calls, while XRP’s 0.76 implied comparatively stronger upside interest among positions still open on the exchange.
That picture shifted, however, when looking at trading activity over the preceding 24 hours rather than static open interest. Volume-based put/call ratios came in at 0.76 for Ethereum and 0.88 for Solana — both consistent with modest call-led demand — while XRP’s volume ratio jumped to 1.54, indicating traders were actively buying downside protection even as the asset’s resting open interest leaned bullish.
Max pain levels sit close to spot
Deribit’s estimated max pain levels — the strike prices at which option buyers collectively lose the most value at expiry — were calculated at $1,875 for Ethereum, $77 for Solana and $1.12 for XRP. All three sat close to prevailing spot prices, raising the prospect of strike-related hedging flows influencing trading into the close.
Ethereum’s expiry stack showed the heaviest concentration at the $1,875 call, with substantial positions also built around the $1,600 put and $2,000 call, suggesting the market was simultaneously bracing for further downside while retaining exposure to a rebound. Solana’s largest clusters sat at the $79 and $78 calls alongside a sizeable $76 put, consistent with a range-bound outlook. XRP’s biggest open interest was at the $1.20 call, though leading put strikes at $1.10 and $1.12 ranked close behind, reflecting competing bullish and defensive narratives around the token’s max pain zone.
Beyond Friday’s expiry, active flow extended into later dates. Ethereum saw notable interest in $2,050, $2,000 and $2,150 calls expiring 31 July, plus a $1,600 put and $2,200 call expiring 7 August. Solana’s most traded contract was an $80 call expiring 25 September, while XRP traders concentrated on $1.12 puts and calls expiring Friday, alongside $1.10 puts expiring 31 July and a $1.15 call expiring 25 September.
Spot weakness accompanies the hedging
Spot markets were under pressure in tandem. Ethereum traded at $1,870, down 2.91% on the day; Solana fell 2.64% to $75.55; and XRP dropped 2.47% to $1.11. With Ethereum and XRP hovering near their respective max pain strikes, the derivatives positioning underscores how expiry-driven hedging can amplify short-term volatility in markets that remain thinly capitalised compared with equities and where institutional participation continues to grow via regulated venues such as Deribit.
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