BackQuant Glossary
OpEx
Options expiry. The recurring event when options settle, almost always referring to the Friday 08:00 UTC settlement on Deribit in crypto. The largest scheduled liquidity event of the week. Quarterly OpEx (last Friday of March, June, September, December) is the largest of the year.
Related terms
Deribit
The dominant crypto options exchange, holding the majority of global BTC and ETH options open interest. Deribit standard expiries settle Friday at 08:00 UTC. The DVOL and ETH DVOL volatility indices are calculated from Deribit option prices.
Expiry
The date and time at which an options contract settles. After expiry, an option pays out its intrinsic value or expires worthless. Crypto options on Deribit expire Fridays at 08:00 UTC.
Settlement
The expiry-time process by which an option pays out its final intrinsic value. On Deribit, settlement occurs at 08:00 UTC using a half-hour time-weighted average of the index price. Settlement is the moment dealer hedging flows release.
OKX
A major centralized derivatives exchange offering perpetuals, futures, and options. OKX is one of the primary aggregation sources for crypto options open interest alongside Deribit, Bybit, and Binance.
Open Interest (OI)
The total number of outstanding contracts (options or futures) that have not been closed. Rising OI on a rally signals new long positioning. Falling OI on a rally signals shorts covering. OI distribution across strikes drives gamma exposure shape.
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