Lesson 12 of 17Advanced8 min
What is a Bitcoin iron condor?
An iron condor is a short strangle with wings. You sell an out-of-the-money put and call on Bitcoin, and buy a further put and call to cap the loss on both sides. It profits while BTC stays between the sold strikes. The most you can lose is the gap to a wing, minus the premium.
Real Delta Exchange quotes · 8 Nov, 2:17 pm ISTFree, no account needed
Income in a range
A short strangle sells a put below and a call above. Between them you keep both premiums. Beyond either strike the loss grows without limit.
Buy a further put and a further call: the wings. Now both sides have a floor. This is an iron condor.
Price at 81,242 → the trade sits at −₹1,929
Iron condor → loss capped at −₹430 (−₹430 here)
At 81,242: −₹1,929 strangle · −₹430 iron condor. Iron condor is ₹1,499 better at this price.
An iron condor makes the most money when…
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Next: Bullish with limited riskKey terms
- Short strangle
- A sold out-of-the-money put plus a sold out-of-the-money call.
- Wings
- The bought outer options that cap the loss.
- Iron condor
- A short strangle plus wings on both sides.
- Range
- The zone between the two sold strikes.
Questions people ask
When does a Bitcoin iron condor make money?
When Bitcoin stays between the two sold strikes until expiry, or until you close it. Time decay earns for you every quiet hour.
What is the risk of an iron condor?
A move through either sold strike. The loss grows until the wing, then stops. The maximum loss is the wing gap minus the premium collected.
Iron condor or iron butterfly?
A condor sells strikes away from the price and wins more often with a smaller profit. A butterfly sells at the money for more premium, but needs Bitcoin to stay near one price.
Why crypto traders use condors
Most Bitcoin days end inside a range, even in a market famous for big moves. A condor turns that into income with a known worst case, which is why it is one of the most common strategies for crypto option sellers.
Condors on daily Bitcoin expiries
Bitcoin has an expiry every day at 5:30 pm India time, so a condor can be opened in the morning and settled the same evening. Daily condors collect less but face one day of risk; weekly condors collect more and face a whole week, weekend included.
Choosing the strikes
Algoclear's Market now shows the expected move and the open-interest walls for Bitcoin. Many traders place the sold strikes near those walls or just outside the expected move, with the wings one or two strikes further.
Written by the Algoclear team · Updated 22 September 2026 · Examples use Bitcoin options on Delta Exchange India.
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