This page reflects BOX options positioning from the latest published market-close snapshot. Intraday price and contract changes are not displayed.
Published Snapshot
Aug 18, 2026 close
Max Pain — BOX
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $28.00 (4.44 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$28.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$1.03
±3.2%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
3,428
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
2,043
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.60
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$32.44
Published close
Consensus
-
Open report for full read
Max Pain by Expiration
Pain by Strike
Drill into expiration
Selected: 2026-08-21
Expiration
Max Pain Strike
Last Updated
2026-06-18
$25.00
6/18/2026, 11:06:26 PM
2026-07-17
$25.00
7/17/2026, 11:08:38 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$28.00
8/18/2026, 11:03:29 PM
2026-09-18
$28.00
8/18/2026, 11:03:29 PM
2026-12-18
$27.00
8/18/2026, 11:03:29 PM
2027-01-15
$28.00
8/18/2026, 11:03:29 PM
2027-03-19
$36.00
8/18/2026, 11:03:29 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $28.00.
BOX pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
19
0
1615400
1615400
20
100
1411100
1411200
21
1200
1207000
1208200
22
2300
1003100
1005400
23
3500
800300
803800
24
4700
597500
602200
25
6000
441000
447000
26
10000
300700
310700
27
25900
161300
187200
28
46500
23600
70100
29
78800
12900
91700
30
122500
5400
127900
31
174300
2600
176900
32
291800
1400
293200
33
474900
800
475700
34
803100
400
803500
35
1135900
0
1135900
36
1472000
0
1472000
37
1812600
0
1812600
39
2498200
0
2498200
How to Read Max Pain
Compare pin-risk and strike-pressure across expirations from the latest published close.
What max pain measures
Max pain is the strike where option holders would collectively lose the most at expiration, based on open interest across the listed chain.
How traders use it
It is most useful as a possible pinning zone, especially when spot is already trading near a crowded strike into expiration.
What can break it
Strong directional flows, news, or fast spot moves can overwhelm any pinning tendency, so max pain should support a thesis rather than drive it alone.
The closer you are to expiration, the more useful this becomes as context and the less useful it is as a standalone prediction.