Cboe Data: $6.3B IBIT Options Expiry Follows Fed Decision

CryptoSlate reported that the Federal Reserve is set to issue its policy statement at 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday, followed by a press conference from Chair Jerome Powell. This decision occurs two days before a major batch of options on BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, or IBIT, reaches expiration.

Cboe data indicated that the Sept. 18 IBIT expiry involves 1,465,553 open contracts, consisting of 833,070 calls and 632,483 puts. With an IBIT reference price of $42.87, these instruments equate to roughly $6.28 billion in gross underlying share value. Since standard equity options typically cover 100 shares, the total book represents about 146.6 million gross share-equivalents.

The report clarified that open interest measures the number of active positions rather than direct capital at risk. It does not disclose net dealer exposure, client positioning, anticipated hedging activity, or the volume of shares expected to trade at expiry. This metric helps pinpoint where price sensitivity may emerge.

A significant portion of the activity is concentrated near the middle strikes. Specifically, 545,861 contracts, accounting for 37.2% of the total open interest, fall within the $40 to $45 strike range. The $45 strike holds the most individual volume at 141,670 contracts, with the $40 strike following closely at 122,979 contracts.

Based on a Coin Metrics Bitcoin benchmark of $75,961.76 and the IBIT price of $42.87, this specific strike range aligns with Bitcoin values between approximately $70,900 and $79,700. Bitcoin was trading near $76,000 prior to the Fed's announcement. Additionally, the exchange raised IBIT option position and exercise limits in May, moving from 250,000 to 1 million contracts, permitting much larger same-side exposures.