Bitcoin's max pain price level acts as a gravitational force on the underlying ETF price as options expiration approaches, creating price support or resistance that did not exist before the options market

"The concept of a 'max pain' price, the price at which the most options expire worthless and option sellers retain the most premium, has become a closely watched metric in crypto markets. As expiration approaches, the hedging flows of market makers tend to push the price of the underlying ETF toward the max pain level, creating a gravitational effect that did not exist when crypto traded without a listed options market."