Crypto options expiry.
NIFTY gives you one weekly expiry — Thursday, 15:30 IST, done. Deribit runs daily, weekly and monthly cycles at the same clock, 08:00 UTC every day. Same strike can exist in all three at once. OI you think is "weekly" often includes daily and monthly legs stacked on top.
08:00 UTC (13:30 IST)
Every Deribit BTC and ETH option expires at 08:00 UTC. Spot and perps keep trading through it — only the listed option series settles and drops off the book.
Contract basics: Deribit options explained. NIFTY schedules: option expiry mechanics. Dates: expiry calendar · live countdown: /btc/expiry.
Three cycles
Daily
Every calendar day, 08:00 UTC. Smallest OI slice. Theta is fast — pin risk can show up any morning, not just Friday.
Weekly
Fridays, 08:00 UTC. Heaviest OI most weeks. The expiry people actually plan around.
Monthly
Last Friday of the month, 08:00 UTC. When that day is also a weekly Friday, one cut clears both.
We aggregate OI across all three on public pages — so aggregate max pain can move slowly even when today's daily is about to expire.
What happens at expiry
- European exercise only — ITM settles, OTM worthless.
- Settlement uses Deribit's index, not your chart's last print.
- BTC pays in BTC; ETH pays in USDC.
- OI on that series goes to zero; the aggregate chain reshapes immediately after.
Friday weekly
Closest analogue to NIFTY Thursday — but spot never closes. ATM gamma on the nearest weekly picks up in the hours before 08:00 UTC; writers hedge into moves. Spot can pin near heavy strikes, same mechanic as index expiry, different hours.
Into Friday expiry, traders usually watch:
- Spot vs max pain — narrowing can mean pin; widening can mean breakout.
- PCR on the day — puts adding into expiry is often hedging, not a clean bearish read.
- OI path since UTC midnight — buildup vs open.
- Liquidations if spot breaks hard — forced flow overrides pin.
Daily expiry
Easy to ignore until you hold one too long. Each 08:00 UTC a full daily set expires while weeklies and monthlies stay open. Aggregate max pain and PCR can jump right after the cut when daily OI clears. If you only check positioning on Fridays, you miss half the picture.
The daily digest uses UTC days for the same reason.
Monthly last Friday
Far-dated monthly strikes can anchor aggregate max pain for days before the print. After settlement the chain often looks thinner on long-dated strikes until the next monthly builds OI.
Rolling
NIFTY rolls cluster Wednesday before Thursday. On Deribit it's continuous — close near-dated, open the next daily/weekly/monthly. Many desks shift weekly exposure toward next Friday on Thursday UTC, before this week's 08:00 print. Replay shows how OI moved between expiries on past days.
Binance
Binance BTC options also expire 08:00 UTC, USDT-settled. Same clock, different margin and OI profile. Compared on venues where we have feeds. This page is Deribit-focused — that's where our archive lives.
IST gotchas
13:30 is mid-session for you
08:00 UTC = 13:30 IST. BTC expiry gamma can overlap with NIFTY afternoon flow the same day. Not an overnight-only event.
NIFTY's last 30 minutes don't transfer
NIFTY pins into a close at 15:30 IST. Crypto spot keeps going — pinning can start earlier and break if perp flow overwhelms option hedging.
Friday-only checks
Max pain drift from daily rolls happens every morning. Compare today vs yesterday on the digest.
FAQ
What time do Deribit options expire?
08:00 UTC (13:30 IST). Daily, weekly Friday, monthly last Friday.
Do BTC options expire every day?
Yes — daily series plus weeklies and monthlies.
Which expiry matters most?
Friday weekly for positioning. Monthlies anchor far strikes.
How is settlement calculated?
Deribit index at expiry. BTC in BTC, ETH in USDC.
How is this different from NIFTY?
24/7, daily expiries, fixed UTC cut, no holiday roll.