After Christmas, the Bitcoin market may experience a significant shakeout.

What is the key reason? Bitcoin options worth $23.66 billion will expire on December 26. It’s important to note that this already accounts for more than 1% of Bitcoin’s total market capitalization being settled on the same day, making the scale quite substantial.

Let’s look at some data:

A true reflection of the current options market——
Total open contracts: 268,267
Call options: 194,801
Put options: 73,466
Put-to-call ratio: 0.38
Notional value at expiration: $23.66 billion
Maximum pain price: $96,000

What do these numbers mean? Large whales have deployed massive positions at these key price levels. When so much money is concentrated to expire on a single date, every market move will be influenced by this force.

The chart clearly shows the battle—large amounts of call options are stacked above the current price, while put options, though fewer, still hold significant positions. As expiration approaches, you’ll often see familiar patterns: the price slowly rising, encountering resistance at certain levels; then sharply falling, only to be supported again. This kind of tug-of-war often triggers liquidations on both the long and short sides.

Why is the $96,000 level particularly important? It’s the so-called "max pain" price—the point where option buyers suffer the most losses at settlement.

But this doesn’t mean Bitcoin must surge to $96,000. The real threat is that ignoring this $23.66 billion expiration pressure could ultimately cost you.

Key signals to watch before December 26:

If the price hovers near dense trading zones—expect clear suppression and resistance
If the price breaks through this zone—the "attractiveness" of these positions will diminish after expiration, potentially triggering larger volatility

This is the fundamental logic market participants must understand. The trend in the next trading week will largely be influenced by this invisible giant.