Delta Exchange options expiry: when do options expire?

The expiries at a glance

The three kinds of contract on Delta Exchange India, and when each settles.

The last Friday of a month is both that week's weekly and that month's monthly: one contract serves as both. Which expiries are listed at any moment varies by market, and the card above shows Bitcoin's current list.

Settlement, worked in numbers

The options are European and cash-settled. An example with round numbers: you hold 10 lots, which is 0.01 BTC, of the 80,000 call, bought for 900 per Bitcoin, 9 USDT.

At 5:30 pm the exchange fixes its settlement price. If that is 80,600, the call is worth 600 per Bitcoin, and you receive 6 USDT: a loss of 3 USDT on the 9 paid. If it is 82,000, you receive 20 USDT, a profit of 11. If it is 79,900, the call expires worthless and the 9 USDT is gone. No Bitcoin changes hands in any of these; only USDT moves.

A position left to expire pays no exit fee, only the fee it paid on entry.

Expiry day, hour by hour

What changes as 5:30 pm approaches on a Bitcoin expiry.

• Morning: the day's options still hold most of their time value, and the expected move for the day is at its widest.
• Afternoon: time decay speeds up. At-the-money options lose value fastest in these hours.
• The last hour: gamma is at its highest. An at-the-money option can swing between nearly worthless and clearly valuable on a small move.
• 5:30 pm: settlement. In-the-money options pay their intrinsic value, the rest expire, and a new daily expiry becomes the nearest one.

Why 5:30 pm matters for Indian traders

Settlement at 5:30 pm India time falls in the evening, after work for many traders. The last hours before it are when at-the-money options move the most, so it is worth planning exits around it.

Choosing an expiry

Daily expiries give fast decay and one day of risk. Weekly expiries give an idea a few days to work. Monthly expiries suit slower views. Algoclear strategies can target any of them by rule, such as the nearest daily or the weekly, and pick the date fresh each time.

Common mistakes around expiry

Most happen in the final hours.

• Forgetting the time. A position meant to be closed by hand settles at 5:30 pm whether or not you are watching.
• Assuming Gold settles with Bitcoin. Gold options settle four hours later, at 9:30 pm.
• Holding a bought option into the last hour hoping for a bounce, while time value drains by the minute.
• Holding a sold at-the-money option into the last hour for its final premium, at the point of highest gamma.