ETH options skew shifts after large September expiry

Deribit processes large Ether options block

Deribit processed the September 2026 $4.8 billion notional expiry of Ether options. For the actual September 25 settlement, call open interest was $1.34 billion and put open interest was $820.1 million. This created a put/call ratio of 0.61. Most call interest stayed within the $3,000 to $4,000 strike band. The max pain level for this expiry was $2,200. You know the Ethereum market remains much more concentrated than Bitcoin. Deribit controls more than 90% of Ethereum options activity, a level of concentration that prevents the venue diversification seen in Bitcoin. A single $6,500 call position on Deribit held over 53,000 ETH, and other bullish clusters appeared between $2,200 and $6,500 across later expiries. Deribit’s dominance remains a contrast to the Bitcoin market, where IBIT reached 52% of total Bitcoin options open interest in January.

Ethereum Options Data	September 25 Expiry
Notional Value	$2.16 billion
Call Open Interest	$1.34 billion
Put Open Interest	$820.1 million
Put/Call Ratio	0.61
Max Pain Price	$2,200
7-day Skew (ETH)	-0.7%

Volatility and skew normalization

The 25-delta risk reversal for Ethereum shifted toward a bullish position this month. The 7-day skew for ETH reached -0.7%, which is less bearish than the -2.2% reading for Bitcoin. Ethereum’s term structure also normalized from the mild inversion recorded last week. When the ETH spot price broke through $1,800, the 25-delta put-call skew was -0.8%. Implied volatility for Ethereum was higher in late 2025, when the main-tenor rate was near 60%. This volatility allowed premium-selling strategies to stay well compensated. In March 2026, calls made up 61% of Ethereum options open interest, covering 2.22 million ETH, while puts accounted for 1.42 million ETH. Compared to Bitcoin, where implied volatility was 40% in late 2025, the Ethereum premium was higher. Will traders rebuild these large call positions for the next quarterly cycle?

Price response and resistance levels

Ethereum price action moved sharply after the September settlement. The asset climbed from $2,416 on September 16 to roughly $2,760 by the morning of September 23. Technical analysis identifies $2,661.52 as a resistance level, while $3,050 is a potential target. Buyers defended support at the $2,400 area. On September 15, the combined Ethereum options open interest for the quarterly expiry was $1.92 billion. This was a slight increase from the $1.92 billion recorded earlier that month. The current call-heavy structure follows a period where the put/call ratio was only 0.57 on September 15. This $18.1 billion total for the September 25 expiry included $16.13 billion of Bitcoin inverse-option open interest alongside $2.16 billion in Ether. The asset climbed from $2,416 on September 16 to roughly $2,760 by the morning of September 23, which occurred after the asset cleared technical resistance near the $2,661 level.