Key Takeaways:
Bitcoin CME options open interest shows puts dominating since late 2025, with calls holding a 57% edge on Deribit in April 2026. Total BTC options OI reached $30B+, while Binance leads futures at $9.31B and CME ranks second at $8.74B across 11 tracked exchanges. Max pain levels on Deribit, OKX, and Binance cluster near $70K to $72K ahead of the April 24, 2026, expiration with the heaviest notional value. Futures Open Interest: Binance Leads, CME Close Behind Futures Open Interest in Context: Off the Peak, RebuildingMore telling is the composition. When stacked by position type, calls versus puts, the CME options market has shifted hard toward puts since October 2025. Put open interest in USD terms swelled to nearly $285 million in December 2025 and has remained elevated through April 2026, while call exposure has nearly evaporated, sitting close to zero in recent weeks. Traders on CME are buying protection. They are not pressing upside bets.
Options Market Breadth: Deribit Still DominatesMax pain levels across Deribit, Binance, and OKX all cluster near $70,000 to $72,000, with meaningful notional value tied to the April 24, 2026, expiration. On Deribit, the April 24 expiry carries the highest notional bar, roughly $8 billion, with max pain sitting around $72,000. The June 26 expiration also shows elevated notional near $8 billion with max pain near $75,500 before curving down sharply toward year-end.
Binance’s max pain data shows near-term expirations, April 11 through April 13, priced around $71,000 to $72,000, while the April 24 contract, the heaviest by notional, anchors at approximately $71,500. OKX tracks similarly, with April 24 carrying the most weight and max pain oscillating between $70,000 and $75,500 in the near-to-mid term.
