Roughly $7 trillion in stock index futures, stock index options, and single-stock options expired at once on September 18, making it the second-largest quadruple witching event on record. The expiration landed just two days after the Federal Reserve's first rate hike in three years, creating what one report called a volatile cocktail for markets.
Roughly $7 trillion worth of stock index futures, stock index options, and single-stock options expired simultaneously on September 18, making it the second-largest quadruple witching event in market history. That figure is roughly the combined GDP of Japan and India.
Only two events have been bigger
Quadruple witching happens four times a year, on the third Friday of March, June, September, and December, when stock index futures, stock index options, single-stock options, and single-stock futures all expire together. The only events that have topped this one are recent ones: March 2026 came in around $7.1 trillion, and June 2026 approached an estimated $7.7 trillion.
Most of the volume concentrates in the final hour of trading, nicknamed the "witching hour," when traders adjust the bulk of their positions and volume spikes to several times normal levels. This September's event ran primarily through the CME for index futures and the Cboe for options, the two exchanges that anchor US derivatives trading.
The Fed's timing added fuel to the fire
The expiration's proximity to a major policy shift made it especially charged. On September 16, two days before the witching date, the Federal Reserve raised its target interest rate by 25 basis points to a range of 3.75%-4.00%, its first rate hike in more than three years. The Bank of Japan also held a policy meeting during the same window, adding another layer of global macro uncertainty.
Pre-event estimates from Citadel Securities had pegged US options exposure at approximately $6.2 trillion as of late August. The jump to $7 trillion suggests a meaningful buildup in positioning through the first two and a half weeks of September, likely driven in part by traders hedging around the anticipated Fed decision.
Source: Crypto Briefing
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