Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP Prices Spooked by ‘Triple Witching’ Volatility

Bitcoin, along with most top coins, has taken a dip as investors brace for a “triple witching” dose of market volatility.

At the time of publication, Bitcoin’s price has shed 2.4% since yesterday, slipping below $84,000. The Ethereum price followed it, also dropping 2.4% to trade for $1,948.93, according to CoinGecko data.

ETH hasn’t been this low since November 2023, right before a Bitcoin rally helped it climb out of a months-long trough and back above $2,000.

The XRP price has dropped by 5.2% since yesterday. Earlier this week, XRP saw a huge surge after Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the SEC will soon drop its lawsuit against the company—though the regulator has yet to file paperwork to do so, and declined to comment on the matter when asked by Decrypt.

What is triple witching?

Triple witching describes the simultaneous expiry of stock index futures, stock index options, and stock options in traditional markets.  Today marks the first of four such events in 2025.

They always occur on the third Friday of March, June, September, and December.  They’re known to set off heightened volatility as traders rush to adjust and close positions before contracts settle at the end of the day.

In rare events, it coincides with the expiry of single-stock futures and creates a quadruple witching day. But investors are being spared that level of tumult today.

Today’s “triple-witching” will see about $4.5 trillion worth of contracts tied to stocks, indexes and exchange-traded funds expire, according to estimates from Citigroup analysts.

As a measure of traditional market unrest, the Chicago Board Options Exchange’s CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX, has already risen to 5.6% since yesterday’s close. Although, to be fair, the VIX’s current 20.78 rating is well below the spike to 29.07 seen at the start of last week amid roiling global trade issues.

As for crypto markets, Glassnode analysts noted in a recent report that the Bitcoin options market shows traders are increasingly looking to mitigate the risk of BTC taking a dive.

“The Volatility Smile shows that puts are trading at a higher premium than calls, signaling risk-averse positioning as investors hedge against further downside”

Zooming out, CryptoQuant noted in a recent weekly report that its Bitcoin Bull Score has dropped to a 2-year low.

“Bitcoin’s down 23% from its peak, and history shows strong rallies only happen when the score is above 60,” the analysts wrote. “Extended low scores often come with bear markets.”

Among users of decentralized prediction market MYRIAD (launched by Decrypt‘s parent company DASTAN), optimism around Bitcoin’s price appears to have slipped, with just over 60% now expecting Bitcoin to hold above $83,000 by the end of the week, down from over 75% on Thursday. Around 57% of MYRIAD users also expect the Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index, a measure of sentiment, to remain below 36 by March 25.

Edited by Stephen Graves.