On May 21, 2026, open interest in Bitcoin options on the Deribit platform surged to approximately $31.3 billion, surpassing BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF IBIT, which held around $27 billion. This shift reestablished Deribit as the world’s largest venue for Bitcoin options open interest. Notably, this reversal came less than a month after IBIT briefly overtook Deribit in April, reaching $27.61 billion versus Deribit’s $26.9 billion.
At the same time, a total of 80,535 Bitcoin option contracts on Deribit—representing a notional value of about $6.25 billion—are set to expire on May 29, marking one of the largest option expiries in recent months. As of May 22, the spot price of Bitcoin hovered around $77,684, up roughly 11.76% over the past 30 days. The current "max pain" price stands at $75,000, about $2,684 below spot.
Here’s a snapshot of the key data for this event:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Deribit BTC Options Open Interest | ~$31.3 billion |
| BlackRock IBIT Holdings | ~$27 billion |
| Options Expiring May 29 | 80,535 contracts |
| Notional Value of Expiring Contracts | ~$6.25 billion |
| Max Pain | $75,000 |
| Largest Put Strike | $75,000 (~$394 million) |
| Largest Call Strike | $80,000 (~$532 million) |
| Put/Call Ratio | 0.86 |
From the Rise of ETF Options to Deribit’s Comeback
To understand the shifting lead between Deribit and IBIT, we need to revisit the regulatory evolution since 2024.
January 2024: The US Securities and Exchange Commission approved the first spot Bitcoin ETFs. BlackRock’s IBIT quickly became the world’s largest spot Bitcoin ETF.
November 2024: US regulators further greenlit options trading on spot Bitcoin ETFs, with IBIT options officially launching. Thanks to regulatory clarity, robust clearing, and institutional accessibility, IBIT’s options open interest soared from zero to rival Deribit’s in less than two years.
April 2026: For the first time, IBIT’s open interest edged past Deribit, hitting $27.61 billion versus Deribit’s $26.9 billion. Many saw this as a landmark in institutionalization—traditional finance giants were taking the reins in Bitcoin derivatives pricing.
May 2026: Deribit’s open interest rebounded to $31.3 billion, while IBIT slipped to about $27 billion, reversing the trend. This shift came at a critical juncture: with $6.25 billion in options set to expire on May 29, a wave of traders flocked to Deribit, driving a rapid expansion in open interest.
Two Markets, Two Distinct Profiles
While Deribit and IBIT battle for open interest supremacy, the underlying story is about the structural differences between their user bases.
Term Structure Reveals Diverging Preferences
According to Volmex, IBIT options have an average time to expiry about two months longer than Deribit’s. Open interest in IBIT call options suggests traders are targeting Bitcoin prices around $109,709—roughly 41% above current levels. This points to a user base dominated by institutions with medium- to long-term outlooks, favoring out-of-the-money calls to express directional bets.
In contrast, Deribit’s open interest is heavily skewed toward near-term expiries. For the high-profile May 29 expiry, there are 43,184 call options and 37,351 puts outstanding. The $80,000 strike call has the largest open interest, with a notional value of about $532 million. Meanwhile, the $82,000 strike call was the most actively traded contract on May 21, with around 1,600 contracts traded for a notional value of $126 million.
Concentration of Positions Shapes the Battleground
Here’s the estimated open interest distribution for key strikes expiring May 29 (based on public data):
- $75,000 strike: Highest concentration of puts, with about $394 million in open interest.
- $80,000 strike: Largest concentration of calls, totaling about $532 million.
- $82,000 strike: Most actively traded call, indicating some traders are betting on a breakout above resistance.
The put/call ratio of 0.86 signals a moderately bullish market sentiment. However, with max pain at $75,000, this bullish tilt faces downward pressure from market microstructure forces.
Max Pain and Expiry: Why $75,000 Is the Key Level
The "max pain" price is where option buyers incur the greatest losses and sellers reap the most profit. As expiry approaches, market makers often hedge their gamma and delta exposures by trading spot, which can pull prices toward the max pain level, creating a short-term gravitational effect.
Currently, Bitcoin trades at about $77,684, while the max pain for the May 29 expiry is $75,000—a gap of roughly $2,684. This suggests that dynamic hedging by market makers could exert downward pressure of about 3.5% on the spot price ahead of expiry.
Historically, $75,000 has been a key battleground for bulls and bears throughout 2026. The April expiry also saw heavy positioning around this level. Glassnode data shows that as of May 11, the one-month max pain for Bitcoin options was $75,000, matching the upcoming May 29 expiry.
However, max pain is not destiny. What’s unique this time is the "call wall" at the $80,000 strike, with $532 million in open interest—far exceeding the $394 million in puts at $75,000. This creates a strong upward pull, setting up a tug-of-war between the call wall and the max pain level.
Decoding Market Narratives: Who’s Driving the Story?
The battle for open interest leadership and the looming May 29 expiry have spawned several dominant market narratives:
Institutionalization is Irreversible; IBIT’s Long-Term Edge Remains. Proponents argue that IBIT’s rapid ascent to parity with Deribit demonstrates the appeal of regulated ETF options for institutional capital. With longer-dated expiries and higher upside targets, IBIT reflects a mature, strategic approach. Deribit’s short-term comeback doesn’t overturn this trend.
On-Chain Native Markets Remain Resilient; Power Hasn’t Fully Shifted. Others note that Deribit’s swift rebound after being overtaken in April highlights the irreplaceable liquidity and depth of offshore derivatives. Especially around major expiries, high-frequency traders, market makers, and crypto-native funds still prefer Deribit as their primary battlefield.
A Dual-Track System Is Emerging, Not a Zero-Sum Game. Some observers contend that IBIT and Deribit serve fundamentally different constituencies—IBIT caters to traditional institutions seeking regulated exposure, while Deribit serves professional derivatives traders focused on volatility and hedging. The two aren’t direct rivals but are jointly expanding the overall Bitcoin options market.
Low Implied Volatility Signals Elevated Uncertainty. Notably, Bitcoin’s implied volatility recently dipped to around 42%, a yearly low. Typically, implied volatility rises ahead of major expiries due to uncertainty, but the current low-volatility regime may indicate broad consensus around the $75,000–$80,000 range.
The Deeper Logic Behind the Reversal
When IBIT surpassed Deribit in April with $27.61 billion in open interest, many proclaimed that institutions had fully taken over the Bitcoin derivatives market. Yet less than a month later, Deribit’s rebound to $31.3 billion serves as a reality check against such sweeping narratives.
Why was Deribit able to mount such a rapid comeback? Several structural factors are at play:
First, expiry effects drive position clustering. The $6.25 billion in options expiring in late May naturally draws traders to the nearest expiry venue for rolling, adjustment, and arbitrage. As the original listing venue for these contracts, Deribit benefits from a liquidity "magnet" effect.
Second, trader profiles dictate platform choice. Pre-expiry trading strategies—such as gamma hedging, rolling, and straddle arbitrage—require speed, margin flexibility, and low fees, all areas where Deribit outshines regulated ETF options markets.
Third, IBIT’s open interest decline isn’t a one-way outflow. In mid-May, US spot Bitcoin ETFs saw consecutive net outflows, with IBIT losing about $448.4 million. However, this reflects short-term capital rotation amid shifting macro sentiment, not a systemic withdrawal of institutional funds.
Industry Impact: From Pricing Power to Market Evolution
The tug-of-war between Deribit and IBIT has far-reaching implications for the crypto derivatives sector:
Dual-Center Pricing Power
Traditional finance theory holds that the largest derivatives market naturally dominates price discovery. Yet in Bitcoin options, a unique "dual-center" model is emerging: regulated ETF options represent the consensus pricing of institutional, long-term capital, while offshore native derivatives capture the marginal pricing of short-term traders and market makers. Each venue plays a complementary, not substitutive, role across different timeframes.
Structural Shifts in the Volatility Market
In January 2026, open interest in Bitcoin options surpassed that of perpetual futures for the first time, signaling a shift from leverage-driven speculation to volatility and risk management strategies. The Deribit-IBIT duopoly is accelerating this trend: IBIT’s institutional flows are lowering overall market leverage, while Deribit’s diverse expiries and strikes are enabling more sophisticated volatility trading.
Implications for Individual Traders
For retail and professional traders alike, the dual-platform landscape means a broader array of strategies. For example, some use IBIT options to express medium- to long-term directional views, while trading short-term gamma or volatility arbitrage on Deribit. Gate now offers a variety of options strategies—including zero-cost collars and call spreads—to help users manage risk in any market environment.
Conclusion
Deribit’s resurgence to $31.3 billion in Bitcoin options open interest, overtaking BlackRock’s IBIT, is neither a final victory for offshore platforms nor a sign that institutionalization has stalled. Instead, it marks the maturation of a "dual-track" Bitcoin derivatives market—where regulated ETF options and on-chain native derivatives each play to their strengths in different contexts, jointly driving the global Bitcoin options market to new highs.
The $6.25 billion in options expiring on May 29 serves as a stress test for this dual-track system. Between the $75,000 max pain and the $80,000 call wall, the market is locked in a fierce battle for short-term pricing power. Whatever the outcome, one thing is clear: the era of single-platform dominance in Bitcoin derivatives is over. A new era—more complex, resilient, and demanding deeper market insight—has begun.
