Q1's Biggest Options Expiry Nears; Institutions Position for Longer-Term BTC Upside

Greeks.live (@GreeksLive) said tomorrow will bring the largest options expiry of the first quarter, with nearly 40% of outstanding contracts rolling off. The key BTC "max pain" level sits at $75,000, a mark the market is currently struggling to approach. The put/call ratio remains near 0.6, pointing to broadly bearish positioning. As settlement approaches, front-month implied volatility (IV) is holding firm, though an IV crush is widely expected after expiry. That dynamic accelerates time-value decay for short-dated option buyers and tilts the edge toward sellers. On-chain indicators tied to today's Deribit block trades suggest institutional "smart money" is actively reshaping exposure. Large volumes of contracts expiring tomorrow are being closed, while positions are shifting into out-of-the-money (OTM) calls for June and September, signaling bets on a medium- to long-term recovery in BTC.