Whale Turns Bearish Ahead of $2 Billion Bitcoin and Ethereum Options Expiry

A whale accumulated more than 2,000 Bitcoin (BTC) put contracts overnight, targeting a move below $66,000, just as over $2.15 billion in Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) options settle on Deribit today, April 3. The back-to-back repositioning signals that at least one large player sees downside risk in BTCs current price range, even as call open interest still outnumbers puts across both assets. Why the Whale Trade Matters Options analytics platform Greeks.live flagged the position shift on April 2, noting the same whale had closed a profitable long trade hours earlier before pivoting bearish. Per the analysts, the whale entered a long position at $66,000 and exited above $68,000, booking a confirmed profit. Within hours, a trader of comparable size began accumulating put contracts, this time betting on a move lower. The rapid reversal is notable. A whale exiting a winning trade and immediately loading the opposite direction suggests a view that the $66,000$68,000 zone is a resistance ceiling, not a launchpad. Bitcoin Price Performance. With BTC trading at $66,575 and its max pain level set at $68,000, the spot price sits $1,425 below the level where options sellers profit most. If BTC fails to close that gap before settlement at 08:00 UTC, the bearish whales puts gain value. The Expiry Data Bitcoin accounts for $1.84 billion of todays total notional value, with 27,590 contracts outstanding. Call open interest stands at 17,930 against 9,600 puts, giving a put-to-call ratio of 0.54. The call skew still leans bullish in aggregate, but the whales 2,000-contract put position adds concentrated downside weight near the $66,000 strike. Ethereums expiry is smaller but similarly structured. With $319.9 million in notional value and 156,083 total contracts, ETH trades at $2,052 against a max pain level of $2,075. Its put-to-call ratio of 0.72 points to heavier downside hedging than BTCs. Yesterday, the whale closed out the two positions on the right side The whale entered the position at 66K and closed it out above 68K this trade was a resounding success. Starting late last night, a whale of similar size began buying put options again, with over 2,000 contracts expiring today, targeting a price below 66K, the analysts stated. What Comes Next Options settle at 08:00 UTC on Deribit. The hours leading up to that window typically generate the sharpest gamma hedging activity, pulling prices toward max pain. For BTC, that means a potential drift toward $68,000 if bulls hold ground, or a break below $66,000 if the whales put bet plays out.