> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.backquant.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Max pain

> The strike where option writers profit most — and how to read it

**Max pain** is the strike at which the largest dollar amount of
options expires worthless. It's the single number that summarizes
"where do option *writers* (dealers + sellers) want price to be at
expiry?"

## The intuition

For each candidate strike, calculate the total dollar payout option
*buyers* would receive if the underlying settled there at expiry.
**Max pain is the strike that minimises that total payout** — the price
where the most contracts expire worthless and writers keep the most
premium.

Dealers who sold those options have an interest in hedging price toward
that strike as expiration approaches. Whether they actually have the
muscle to drive price there is a separate question (usually no for
liquid underlyings, sometimes yes for thin OPEX days near the strike),
but the level itself is a meaningful magnet.

## The endpoints

### Quick: 0DTE max-pain

[`/v2/gex/max-pain?symbol=BTCUSDT&expiry=0dte`](/api/v2/gex/max-pain) —
returns the max-pain strike for today's expiry from the pre-computed
0DTE cache. Sub-millisecond response.

```json theme={null}
{
  "expiry": "0dte",
  "max_pain": {
    "strike": 67500,
    "value": 12500000.0
  }
}
```

`value` is the total option-buyer payout at the max-pain strike, in USD.

### Per-expiry table

[`/v2/gex/max-pain?symbol=BTCUSDT&expiry=all`](/api/v2/gex/max-pain) —
the per-expiry max-pain table for every active expiration. Sorted by
DTE.

```json theme={null}
{
  "expiry": "all",
  "per_expiry": [
    { "expiry": "30APR26", "dte": 0, "max_pain": { "strike": 67500, "value": 5e7 } },
    { "expiry": "02MAY26", "dte": 2, "max_pain": { "strike": 67000, "value": 8e7 } },
    { "expiry": "30MAY26", "dte": 30, "max_pain": { "strike": 65000, "value": 4e8 } },
    ...
  ]
}
```

Cached for 30s — repeated calls are sub-millisecond.

### Specific expiry with the full pain curve

[`/v2/gex/max-pain?symbol=BTCUSDT&expiry=30MAY26`](/api/v2/gex/max-pain) —
returns the max-pain strike for that expiry **plus** the full
`pain_curve` (one entry per strike), so you can plot the pain function
as a U-shape and visually see how steep the magnet is.

```json theme={null}
{
  "expiry": "30MAY26",
  "dte": 30,
  "max_pain": { "strike": 65000, "value": 4e8 },
  "pain_curve": [
    { "strike": 60000, "pain": 7.2e8 },
    { "strike": 62500, "pain": 5.5e8 },
    { "strike": 65000, "pain": 4.0e8 },
    { "strike": 67500, "pain": 4.3e8 },
    { "strike": 70000, "pain": 5.1e8 },
    ...
  ]
}
```

A flat curve (similar pain values across many strikes) means weak
magnet — dealers have no strong preference. A sharp U (one strike with
much lower pain than its neighbours) means a strong magnet — that's the
strike to watch into expiry.

## Where else max-pain shows up in v2

* **`/v2/options/opex`** — every expiration in the horizon comes with
  its `max_pain` block under `gamma`.
* **`/v2/options/expiry-summary`** — every row carries `max_pain` for
  that expiry.
* **`/v2/gex/levels?include=max_pain`** — the 0DTE max-pain alongside
  the gamma walls.

All three share the same per-expiry max-pain cache (30s TTL) so the
snapshot scan happens once per refresh cycle regardless of how many
endpoints query it.

## How traders use it

**Day before OPEX**: combine max-pain with [GEX levels](/concepts/gex).
When max\_pain is between call\_resistance and put\_support, the levels
reinforce each other and the pin is high-probability.

**OPEX day**: the closer to expiry, the tighter the pin tends to get.
Calculate the distance from spot to max\_pain and the implied move; if
the implied move is smaller than the distance, the chain is pricing in
a successful pin.

**Cross-expiry**: an upcoming monthly's max\_pain that's far from spot
is bullish/bearish positioning. The market is signalling where it
expects to be at the next anchor.

**Avoid**: treating max-pain as a forecast on illiquid expiries.
Distant or thinly-traded expirations have noisy max-pain — the curve
is flat, no real magnet exists.

## Related concepts

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="What is GEX?" icon="chart-line" href="/concepts/gex">
    The other major source of expiry-day price magnets.
  </Card>

  <Card title="OPEX calendar" icon="calendar-days" href="/concepts/opex">
    Anchor expirations have the strongest max-pain signal.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Probability density" icon="chart-area" href="/concepts/probability-density">
    The market's full implied price distribution for each expiry.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>