Nearly $500M in $40,000 BTC Puts on Deribit as Traders Hedge Downside Risk

Bitcoin options positioning on Deribit has shifted toward downside protection, with the notional value of $40,000 strike put options expiring February 27 climbing to roughly $490 million as BTC trades near $66,000, CoinDesk reports. About $7.3 billion in Bitcoin options are scheduled to expire at month-end, with $566 million in open interest concentrated at the $75,000 strike, identified as the current "maximum pain" level. While call options still exceed puts overall—63,547 call contracts versus 45,914 put contracts with an open interest ratio of 0.72—the sizable put exposure at lower strikes underscores strong appetite for downside hedging as traders keep upside potential while guarding against further price declines.