BTC price drop undermines theory of pull toward $72K max pain for June 26 expiry

As Bitcoin has fallen to around $61,700 ahead of its options expiry at 8:00 a.m. UTC on June 26, expectations that the price could be pulled toward the max pain level have faded, CoinDesk reported. The max pain price for this expiry is $72,000, significantly above the current price, with $10 billion in options contracts set to expire on Deribit. Max pain refers to the price at which option buyers incur the most losses while sellers reap the maximum profit, leading to a market hypothesis that sellers attempt to guide the spot price toward this level. CoinDesk noted that with the current BTC price so far from the max pain level, arguments that this hypothesis is meaningless are gaining traction. The outlet added that regardless of the theory, the event could still increase market volatility as monthly options are rolled over.