Guide · India
Bitcoin options expiry time in India (IST)
Two clocks matter for Indian Bitcoin options traders: 13:30 IST, when most of the world's BTC options, and 17:30 IST, when Delta Exchange India settles its contracts.
Expiry times at a glance
| Exchange | Expiries | UTC | IST |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global options exchanges | Daily · weekly (Fri) · monthly and quarterly (last Fri) | 08:00 | 13:30 |
| Delta Exchange India | Daily · weekly · monthly | 12:00 | 17:30 |
What happens between 13:00 and 13:30 IST
The expiry does not settle on the last trade. It averages the BTC index over the final 30 minutes, 13:00 to 13:30 IST, and settles every expiring option against that average. Two things follow:
- A wick in the last minute barely moves the settlement price, so there is little point in pushing price at 13:29.
- If price is close to a strike with large open interest, the half hour before settlement is where you are most likely to see it hold near that strike.
What to check before an expiry
- How much is expiring. The weekly Friday and the last Friday of the month carry far more open interest than a daily expiry. Max pain shows the notional for the next expiry.
- Where the open interest sits. In Swiftedge Options, the strikes with the largest open interest near the price are the ones that can matter.
- Dealer gamma. GEX by strike shows whether dealer hedging is likely to slow price down or speed it up around those strikes.
- The order book. In Depth, watch whether walls near the big strikes are real (traded into and refilled) or pulled.
Delta Exchange India at 17:30 IST
Delta Exchange India lists daily, weekly and monthly BTC and ETH options with INR margin and settlement, and settles them at 17:30 IST. Its contracts track the global Bitcoin price. The global open interest and order book on Swiftedge show where that price is being fought over. For the exact settlement rules of a contract, read the specification on Delta Exchange.
Common questions
What time do Bitcoin options expire in IST?
On the global options exchanges at 13:30 IST (08:00 UTC), every day. On Delta Exchange India at 17:30 IST (12:00 UTC).
Which day is the big Bitcoin options expiry?
Friday. The weekly options expire every Friday at 13:30 IST, and the monthly and quarterly contracts on the last Friday of the month. The last Friday usually carries the most open interest.
How is the settlement price set?
It is the average of the BTC index over the last 30 minutes before expiry, from 13:00 to 13:30 IST. A single spike at 13:29 moves the settlement price very little.
Does the expiry move the price?
Sometimes. When a lot of open interest sits at strikes near the price, dealer hedging can hold price close to those strikes into the settlement window and release it afterwards. With little open interest nearby, the expiry passes without a trace. Two years of data on what happens around expiry.
Data, not advice. Expiry times are facts; whether an expiry moves price on a given day is not. Nothing here is a recommendation to trade.