Cryptocurrency markets are still facing headwinds, according to Adam, an analyst at Greeks.live. He points out that the market is struggling to attract new investments and innovative trends, and recent quarterly options expirations haven’t signaled any immediate turnaround.

In a recent update on social media, Adam broke down the important numbers from today’s options expiry:

• Bitcoin (BTC) saw a massive 139,000 options expire, with a Put-Call ratio of 0.49. This means there were more ‘puts’ than ‘calls’ – hinting at a bearish sentiment. The point of maximum pain for these expirations was around $85,000, and the total value tied to these contracts was a hefty $12.1 billion.
• Ethereum (ETH) had 301,000 options expire, with a Put-Call Ratio of 0.39 – again, leaning towards ‘puts’. The maximum pain point was at $2,400, and the notional value totaled $2.13 billion.

Looking at the expiry breakdown, options expiring in three months made up over 40% of all positions. Bitcoin options dominated the expiry volume, making up about 80% of the total, while Ethereum options were around 20%. Outside of the big two, Solana (SOL) had the highest expiry volume, but it was still a small slice of the pie, only accounting for 2% of the total.

Even with worries surrounding Ethereum’s price action, what’s interesting is that the overall structure of open positions (open interest) stayed steady. Meanwhile, implied volatility – essentially market expectations of price swings – saw a slight dip. Bitcoin’s volatility edged down to below 50%, but Ethereum’s remained higher around 60%.

The short-term picture still looks bearish. Analysts are cautioning that investor confidence is waning, and big market players seem to be adding to selling pressure. Without a new positive trigger to energize the market, we could remain stuck in this sideways movement, making it an uphill battle for buyers to take control.

*This is not investment advice.