Live · updated every 5 minutes

Ethereum max pain today

Max pain for every open Ethereum options expiry, from Deribit, OKX and Bybit open interest. The next expiry settles Thursday 22 October at 08:00 UTC with max pain at 2,440; ETH is 2,471. Last updated 21 October 2026, 13:59 UTC.

Max pain, next expiry2,440Thu 22 Oct in 18 h · -1.3 % from price
Max pain, this Friday2,500Fri 23 Oct in 42 h · +1.2 % from price
Max pain, next monthly2,500Fri 30 Oct in 9 days · +1.2 % from price
Open options2,069,093 ETH$5.11B across 11 expiries

Max pain for every expiry

Each dot is one expiry. If max pain were a magnet, the dots would sit on the dashed line at expiry; the record further down shows how often that happened.

2,0002,2002,4002,6002,8003,0002,47122 Oct: max pain 2,440, open interest 67,937 ETH22 OctD23 Oct: max pain 2,500, open interest 136,916 ETH23 OctW24 Oct: max pain 2,420, open interest 10,406 ETH24 OctD25 Oct: max pain 2,420, open interest 1,851 ETH25 OctD30 Oct: max pain 2,500, open interest 474,851 ETH30 OctM06 Nov: max pain 2,450, open interest 48,335 ETH6 NovW27 Nov: max pain 2,600, open interest 191,716 ETH27 NovM25 Dec: max pain 2,200, open interest 752,480 ETH25 DecQamber = max pain (size = open interest) · cyan = expected move · dashed = ETH now
ExpiryTypeMax painFrom priceOpen interest, ETHNotionalPut/callExpected move
Thu 22 OctDAILY2,440-1.3 %67,937$168M0.87±1.9 %
Fri 23 OctWEEKLY2,500+1.2 %136,916$338M0.91±3.0 %
Sat 24 OctDAILY2,420-2.1 %10,406$26M1.81±3.8 %
Sun 25 OctDAILY2,420-2.1 %1,851$4.6M1.38±4.1 %
Fri 30 OctMONTHLY2,500+1.2 %474,851$1.17B0.89±7.3 %
Fri 06 NovWEEKLY2,450-0.9 %48,335$119M1.24±10.4 %
Fri 27 NovMONTHLY2,600+5.2 %191,716$474M0.45±15.6 %
Fri 25 DecQUARTERLY2,200-11.0 %752,480$1.86B0.41±21.1 %
Fri 26 MarQUARTERLY2,200-11.0 %253,117$626M0.41±34.0 %
Fri 25 JunQUARTERLY2,400-2.9 %103,816$257M0.69±43.4 %
Fri 24 SepQUARTERLY2,800+13.3 %27,667$68M0.67±51.4 %

Open interest from Deribit, OKX and Bybit added together. Expected move = what at-the-money implied volatility prices from now until 08:00 UTC on expiry day (one standard deviation). Monthly and quarterly expiries in bold.

The max pain curve for 30 October

For every possible settlement price, the curve adds up what all open calls and puts on 30 October would pay. Max pain is simply the lowest point: 2,500. 474,851 ETH of open interest, put/call 0.89.

$14M$29M$43M$57Mmax pain 2,500ETH 2,4712,0002,1002,2002,3002,4002,5002,6002,7002,8002,900settlement price → · height = what option holders would collect in total

Full breakdown of this expiry, with open interest by strike and the result after settlement: ETH options expiry 30 October.

Max pain against the real settlement

Our record so far: 1 expiries since we started logging. Median distance from max pain to the settlement: 1.27 %. The settlement was closer to max pain than to the price in the last snapshot in 0 of 1. Snapshot = 07:25 UTC, just before the 30-minute settlement window starts.
ExpiryTypeMax painPrice beforeSettledFrom max painCloser to
Wed 21 OctDAILY2,4202,4412,451+1.27 %price

How max pain is calculated

  1. Take every open call and put for one expiry, with its strike and open interest.
  2. Pretend the expiry settles at a given price. A call pays settlement minus strike if that is positive; a put pays strike minus settlement. Multiply by open interest and add everything up.
  3. Do that for every strike. The settlement price with the smallest total is max pain.

It says where the open positions would pay out the least. It says nothing about who holds them, and no one is obliged to move the price there. The max pain guide goes deeper, including our test of whether Ethereum "pins" to max pain.

Open the live options chain ETH funding and open interestETH levels now

FAQ

What is Ethereum max pain?

Max pain is the settlement price at which Ethereum option holders, calls and puts together, would collect the least money at expiry. It is found by trying every strike as the settlement price and adding up what each open option would pay. It uses only open interest, so it is arithmetic on positions, not a forecast.

What is max pain today?

The table above shows max pain for every open expiry, starting with the one that settles next at 08:00 UTC. It is recalculated every few minutes from open interest on Deribit, OKX and Bybit.

Does the price move to max pain before expiry?

There is no rule that it should, and often it does not. Big expiries can settle thousands of dollars from max pain. This page keeps its own record of where each expiry settled compared with max pain just before the settlement window, so you can see how close it really came.

Why is max pain different on other sites?

Sites use different exchanges and update at different times. We add Deribit, OKX and Bybit together; a site that uses only Deribit, or yesterday's numbers, will often show another strike, especially for small daily expiries.

When do Ethereum options expire?

Deribit options settle at 08:00 UTC: daily options every day, weekly options on Fridays, monthly options on the last Friday of the month and quarterly options on the last Friday of March, June, September and December. The settlement price is the average of the index over the 30 minutes before 08:00.

What is the put/call ratio?

Open interest in puts divided by open interest in calls for the same expiry. Above 1 means more puts are open than calls. It counts positions, not who bought or sold them.

Data: Deribit, OKX and Bybit public options data; settlement prices from Deribit. Descriptive data, not a forecast or financial advice.