Bitcoin’s options market has quietly become the main event. Open interest in BTC options has climbed to roughly $60 billion in notional value, a tenfold increase over the past five years, and it now regularly surpasses Bitcoin futures open interest.
The numbers behind the shift
Look at the composition of that $60 billion and you’ll see something interesting. The share of call options has slipped to just under 60%, down from around 70% two years ago. A 70% call share screams “everyone is betting prices go up.” A 60% call share, with the put/call open interest ratio now sitting between 0.7 and 0.84, says something different: traders are actually hedging.
Deribit, the dominant venue for crypto options, recorded BTC options open interest of $31.3 billion in May 2026. At its peak in late 2025, Deribit alone saw figures exceeding $50 billion. CME has also been expanding its presence in the space, adding competitive pressure that tends to tighten spreads and improve execution for everyone involved.
Data from analytics firms like Checkonchain confirms that options open interest has consistently outpaced futures since mid-2025.
