Bitcoin traders ran out of excuses for the market’s flatline – and now a $2.5 billion bet is running out of time
Bitcoin stayed range-bound despite two large weekly options expiries clearing, showing that “max pain” did not drive price. Around $1.2 billion in BTC options expired Friday on Deribit, but Bitcoin finished near $64,140, below the quoted max-pain level and little changed from the prior week. The main takeaway is weak spot demand on both sides of the market. Trading data showed sellers in control, a wider Coinbase discount versus offshore venues, and leveraged longs being liquidated far more than shorts. Funding rates stayed near neutral, futures open interest rose even as price fell, and US spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a one-day outflow after a strong run. Macro risk also weighed on crypto. Large call positioning remains for the July 31 monthly expiry, especially at $70,000 and $72,000, but those strikes are far above current price and have low odds of being reached without a major move.
