Bitcoin wobble, big options hit
Bitcoin slipped near $66k after a major options expiry and a cascade of liquidations — traders reported roughly $300M in long-position liquidations tied to a $14B options expiration that amplified a multi‑percent move. The volatility is being tied to rising Treasury yields and the wider Middle East shock to risk appetite. (latestly.com) (coincentral.com)
Deribit’s quarterly settlement registered $14.16 billion of Bitcoin options at 08:00 UTC on March 27, an event that removed about 40% of open interest on the exchange. (thestreet.com) Options analytics showed a $75,000 “max pain” level for the expiry and a rising put-call open-interest skew, signaling concentrated positioning around that strike as contracts expired. (coindesk.com) Derivatives feeds recorded nearly $300 million of leveraged long liquidations in the immediate window around the expiry, while some aggregate trackers reported as much as $450 million wiped out across crypto products over 24 hours. (coindesk.com) The squeeze came against a macro backdrop of higher yields—U.S. 10-year Treasury rates were about 4.44% on March 27—and a spike in oil benchmarks after fresh Middle East escalation that briefly pushed WTI toward $100 and Brent above $110. (fred.stlouisfed.org) Institutional flows flipped too: U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded roughly $171.12 million in net outflows on Thursday, a largest single‑day withdrawal in about three weeks led by heavy redemptions from multiple major funds. (coindesk.com) Market commentators and Bloomberg analysis flagged that the expiry’s removal of mechanical hedging left liquidity providers and market makers more exposed, amplifying price moves when leveraged positions were forced to unwind. (bloomberg.com)
