Crypto options are almost universally European style, meaning they can only be exercised at expiry, and cash settled, meaning no coins change hands — the in-the-money amount is credited and the contract disappears.
An equity options trader carries a set of worries that simply do not apply here. The general distinction is covered in American versus European options and cash versus physical settlement; what follows is what it means in this market.
What disappears
Early assignment. A short option cannot be exercised against you before expiry, so a short position is never turned into an unwanted spot position overnight.
Pin risk. The classic equity nightmare — expiring almost exactly at the strike, not knowing whether you will be assigned, and carrying unhedged exposure into the next session — cannot occur. Settlement is arithmetic against a reference price.
Delivery logistics. No coins move, so no wallet, no custody question, no transfer at expiry.
What replaces them
A single point of dependence: the settlement price. Since nothing is delivered, everything rests on the reference the venue computes at expiry — usually an average over a window across several spot exchanges, specifically to make it expensive to manipulate.
That averaging matters. Your contract does not settle at the price you see at the expiry instant; it settles at an average over a window around it. A sharp move inside that window is partly absorbed, which can leave the settlement meaningfully away from the last print — the same last-versus-reference distinction as mark price versus last price.
The practical consequence
A position held into expiry is settled at a number you cannot trade at and cannot fully predict. For a small position that is noise. For a large one held to the last minute, closing before the settlement window is the way to control the exit rather than accept whatever the average produces.