Bitcoin Stalls at $15.6B Options Expiry While XRP, Solana Extend Gains

Options Expiry Pressure Builds on Bitcoin

Bitcoin's upward momentum lost steam Friday as a $15.6 billion options expiry — one of the largest on record — settled at 08:00 UTC. The notional volume, concentrated around the $65,000 and $67,500 strikes, created a pinning effect that kept spot trading rangebound through the Asian and European sessions. Open interest on Deribit alone topped 140,000 contracts ahead of the cut, with max pain sitting near $66,000.

XRP and Solana Decouple From BTC Beta

While Bitcoin consolidated, XRP added 4.2% on the session to reclaim $0.53, its highest level since mid-April. Solana outperformed with a 6.8% surge past $155, driven by renewed memecoin activity on Pump.fun and a spike in DEX volumes on Jupiter. Both assets showed negative 30-day correlation to BTC for the first time since March, suggesting rotational flow rather than broad risk-on.

Technical Structure Hints at Next Move

On the 4-hour chart, Bitcoin printed a bearish engulfing candle at the $67,200 resistance — the third rejection at that level this week. The 20-period EMA is flattening, and RSI divergence appears on the 12-hour timeframe. A clean break below $64,800 would open the door to the $62,000–$63,000 demand zone; a reclaim of $67,500 with volume could invalidate the pullback thesis and target $70,000.

Source: Decrypt