Options
What it is
An option is the right to buy (call) or sell (put) a coin at a price agreed in advance, the strike, on the expiry date. The layer shows at the left edge which strikes have the most open BTC and ETH options on Deribit and OKX: calls in green, puts in red. The dashed line is max pain: the price at which buyers of options for the nearest expiry lose the most in total. The caption shows at-the-money implied volatility (IV) and the put/call ratio.
More: how we calculate it
- BTC and ETH only, Deribit and OKX; data updates every 30 minutes. The layer has no history, only the latest snapshot.
- Nearest expiry: at 08:00 UTC on its date. Max pain: the strike of the nearest expiry at which total payouts on calls and puts (by open interest) are the smallest.
- Bars at the left edge: open interest in $ by strike near the price: calls green, puts red. At-the-money IV: implied volatility at the strike closest to the price; puts/calls: by open interest.
- Settings: "source": "both", "Deribit", "OKX"; "expiry": "nearest", "all at once"; "max pain line of the nearest expiry".
What it looks like in EVA
How it is read
Typical patterns: how they are read and how they are used. Examples from our history for these patterns will appear later — mechanical search has not found them yet, and we chose not to pick them by hand.
1. Price near max pain before expiry
How it is read: into expiry the price seems to be pulled toward max pain. Many expect a quiet day around this level before settlement.
An example will appear later.
2. Large OI at one strike near the price
How it is read: a strike holds many options; their sellers hedge and may keep the price near it. Many treat such a strike as a level.
An example will appear later.
When it does not work
No pattern works every time: options interest explains where the bets are better than it tells where the price will go.
Common traps
- BTC and ETH only: we have no options market for other coins.
- Snapshot every half hour: the data is not live, and the layer has no history, only the latest snapshot.
- Max pain is not a magnet: it is a calculation from open interest, not anyone's target; a big move ignores it.
- OI has no direction: an open call has both a buyer and a seller; the strike does not tell which of them is right.
See also
- Funding and basis: the skew of futures leverage.
- Open Interest in futures: which way positions lean.
- Calendar: the expiry date and macro events.
- Weekly levels: whether a strike lines up with a level.