MAXI Butterfly Strategy
MAXI (Simplify Bitcoin Strategy PLUS Income ETF), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management - Income industry), listed on NASDAQ.
The Simplify Bitcoin Strategy PLUS Income ETF (MAXI) seeks capital gains through an actively managed Bitcoin strategy. A risk-managed options overlay is added to provide income. The Bitcoin exposure will vary between 50% to 200% of the fund’s net assets, based on a proprietary technical model. Exposure may be gained through various instruments, including Bitcoin ETFs, futures, options, or swaps. The options income strategy will focus on selling put spreads on a variety of instruments, including equity indices as well as bond and commodity ETFs.* *The fund does not invest in bitcoin directly.
MAXI (Simplify Bitcoin Strategy PLUS Income ETF) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management - Income, with a market capitalization of approximately $34.1M, a beta of 1.53 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 9.2-36.34, average daily share volume of 29K, a public-listing history dating back to 2022. These structural characteristics shape how MAXI etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.53 indicates MAXI has historically moved more than the broader market, amplifying both the directional payoff and the realized volatility relative to an index-equivalent position. MAXI pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a butterfly on MAXI?
A long call butterfly buys one lower-strike call, sells two ATM calls, and buys one higher-strike call, paying a small net debit for a defined-risk position that maxes out if the underlying pins the middle strike at expiration.
Current MAXI snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $11.70, ATM IV 53.10%, IV rank 19.40%, expected move 15.22%. The butterfly on MAXI below is built from the same end-of-day chain, with strikes snapped to listed contracts and premiums pulled from the bid/ask midpoint at a 34-day expiry.
Why this butterfly structure on MAXI specifically: MAXI IV at 53.10% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a MAXI butterfly, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 15.22% (roughly $1.78 on the underlying). The 34-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated MAXI expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on MAXI should anchor to the underlying notional of $11.70 per share and to the trader's directional view on MAXI etf.
MAXI butterfly setup
The MAXI butterfly below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With MAXI near $11.70, the first option leg uses a $11.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed MAXI chain at a 34-day expiry; the cross-strike IV skew is reflected directly in the per-leg values rather than approximated. Quantity sizing assumes one contract per option leg (or 100 MAXI shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $11.00 | $1.01 |
| Sell 2 | Call | $12.00 | $0.53 |
| Buy 1 | Call | $12.00 | $0.53 |
MAXI butterfly risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$48.50
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $51.50
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$48.50
- Breakeven(s)
- $11.49
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 1.062
Max profit equals the wing width minus net debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins the middle strike); max loss equals the net debit times 100. Two breakevens at lower-wing plus debit and upper-wing minus debit.
MAXI butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on MAXI. Each row is one sampled price point from the computed payoff curve; the full curve uses 200 price points internally before being summarized into 10 rows here.
| Underlying Price | % From Spot | P&L at Expiration |
|---|---|---|
| $0.01 | -99.9% | -$48.50 |
| $2.60 | -77.8% | -$48.50 |
| $5.18 | -55.7% | -$48.50 |
| $7.77 | -33.6% | -$48.50 |
| $10.35 | -11.5% | -$48.50 |
| $12.94 | +10.6% | +$51.50 |
| $15.52 | +32.7% | +$51.50 |
| $18.11 | +54.8% | +$51.50 |
| $20.70 | +76.9% | +$51.50 |
| $23.28 | +99.0% | +$51.50 |
When traders use butterfly on MAXI
Butterflies on MAXI are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect MAXI to settle near a specific level at expiration (often the prior close, a round number, or the max-pain strike) and want defined-risk exposure to that outcome.
MAXI thesis for this butterfly
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for MAXI extends from approximately $9.92 on the downside to $13.48 on the upside. A MAXI long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if MAXI settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current MAXI IV rank near 19.40% sits in the lower third of its 1-year distribution, where IV often re-expands toward the mean; this favors premium-buying structures and disadvantages premium-selling structures on MAXI at 53.10%. As a Financial Services name, MAXI options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to MAXI-specific events.
MAXI butterfly positions are structurally neutral / pin (limited-risk, limited-reward); the modeled P&L assumes European-style exercise at expiration and ignores early assignment, transaction costs, dividends paid before expiry on the stock leg (when present), and the bid-ask spread on the listed chain. MAXI positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move MAXI alongside the broader basket even when MAXI-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current MAXI chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on MAXI?
- A butterfly on MAXI is the butterfly strategy applied to MAXI (etf). The strategy is structurally neutral / pin (limited-risk, limited-reward): A long call butterfly buys one lower-strike call, sells two ATM calls, and buys one higher-strike call, paying a small net debit for a defined-risk position that maxes out if the underlying pins the middle strike at expiration. With MAXI etf trading near $11.70, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed MAXI chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are MAXI butterfly max profit and max loss calculated?
- Max profit equals the wing width minus net debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins the middle strike); max loss equals the net debit times 100. Two breakevens at lower-wing plus debit and upper-wing minus debit. For the MAXI butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 53.10%), the computed maximum profit is $51.50 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$48.50 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a MAXI butterfly?
- The breakeven for the MAXI butterfly priced on this page is roughly $11.49 at expiration, derived from end-of-day chain premiums. Breakeven is the underlying price at which the strategy's P&L crosses zero ignoring transaction costs and assignment risk. The current MAXI market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 15.22%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a butterfly on MAXI?
- Butterflies on MAXI are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect MAXI to settle near a specific level at expiration (often the prior close, a round number, or the max-pain strike) and want defined-risk exposure to that outcome.
- How does current MAXI implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- MAXI ATM IV is at 53.10% with IV rank near 19.40%, which is on the low end of its 1-year range. Premium-buying structures (long call, long put, debit spreads) are relatively cheap in this regime; premium-selling structures collect less credit per unit risk.